Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Stock Moved Down to “Strong Sell” by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KMPR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kemper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on Kemper from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Kemper from $81.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $37.67.

Kemper Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of KMPR opened at $28.91 on Tuesday. Kemper has a 12 month low of $22.69 and a 12 month high of $49.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.19 and its 200-day moving average is $28.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Kemper had a negative net margin of 10.84% and a positive return on equity of 2.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kemper will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -15.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Laderman bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.49 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 33,365 shares in the company, valued at $883,838.85. This represents a 13.62% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Evans purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.53 per share, with a total value of $26,530.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 91,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,917.37. This represents a 1.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 14,000 shares of company stock worth $367,880 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KMPR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Kemper by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 536,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,455,000 after acquiring an additional 118,683 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 125.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 284,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,693,000 after acquiring an additional 158,488 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 1,888.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 214,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 203,417 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kemper during the second quarter worth $227,331,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kemper during the first quarter worth $1,622,000. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kemper Company Profile

Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR) is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals, families and businesses in the United States. Its operations focus primarily on personal and commercial automobile insurance, along with related coverage designed for customers in specialty and preferred insurance markets.

The company offers products that may include nonstandard and standard auto insurance, homeowners and renters insurance, and other personal insurance solutions.