Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys 914 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,426 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 565.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 34,922 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 244.2% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,376 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 81.1% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 7.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Kemper by 37.4% during the third quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 168,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,307,000 after purchasing an additional 45,796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Price Performance

Kemper stock opened at $65.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $52.91 and a 52-week high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.44) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.40.

Kemper Profile

Kemper Corporation, a diversified insurance holding company, engages in the provision of insurance products to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance, Preferred Property & Casualty Insurance, and Life & Health Insurance.