Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Short Interest Update

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 939,000 shares, a drop of 7.0% from the September 15th total of 1,010,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 340,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $62.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.72 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.15. Kemper has a 1-year low of $38.52 and a 1-year high of $65.93.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.23. Kemper had a net margin of 1.11% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kemper will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Kemper’s payout ratio is 158.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KMPR. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Kemper from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 8th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kemper has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kemper

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KMPR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kemper by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,203,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $301,935,000 after buying an additional 28,095 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Kemper by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 8,131 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kemper during the first quarter worth approximately $277,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Kemper by 257.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kemper in the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Company 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.