State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,733 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Kemper were worth $1,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 169,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,290,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Kemper by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kemper by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 3,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on KMPR shares. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kemper presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.60.

Kemper Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KMPR opened at $64.16 on Monday. Kemper Co. has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $73.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.77.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.07%.

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.