Swiss National Bank Sells 2,600 Shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 124,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Kemper were worth $8,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMPR. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Kemper during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 104.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 650 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in shares of Kemper during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kemper during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Kemper by 197.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on KMPR shares. JMP Securities dropped their target price on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Kemper to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “underweight” rating and set a $50.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kemper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.75.

Kemper Price Performance

NYSE:KMPR opened at $53.21 on Friday. Kemper Corporation has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $73.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.67.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.11%.

Kemper announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kemper

In other Kemper news, Director Jason N. Gorevic acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.14 per share, for a total transaction of $98,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. The trade was a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Laderman acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.37 per share, with a total value of $148,110.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,635 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,229.95. The trade was a 13.87% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 8,000 shares of company stock worth $432,845. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

About Kemper

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.