Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.32 and last traded at $69.70, with a volume of 27056 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KMPR shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Kemper from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com raised Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James raised their target price on Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.20.

Kemper Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.31 and a 200 day moving average of $61.13. 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 (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.44) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.52%.

Institutional Trading of Kemper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kemper by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,429,101 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,115,000 after buying an additional 30,882 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 791,145 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,988,000 after purchasing an additional 23,285 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 741,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,010,000 after purchasing an additional 19,982 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 65.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 623,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,012,000 after purchasing an additional 246,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

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.