Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Shares Down 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR)’s stock price dropped 5.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $27.97 and last traded at $28.04. Approximately 354,054 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 963,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KMPR. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Kemper from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kemper from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Kemper to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kemper has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Kemper Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 41.04 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 4.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kemper Corporation will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 206.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kemper

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kemper by 40.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,323,000 after purchasing an additional 795,131 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Kemper by 12.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,776,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $143,131,000 after purchasing an additional 316,216 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kemper by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,472,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $100,227,000 after acquiring an additional 140,539 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,212,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $142,764,000 after buying an additional 10,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 13.7% during the third quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 1,181,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,885,000 after buying an additional 142,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kemper Company Profile

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) is a diversified insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed through the rebranding of Unitrin in 2010, Kemper has established a nationwide presence by offering a broad array of property and casualty insurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, brokers and direct-to-consumer channels, serving both individual policyholders and commercial clients.

The personal insurance segment provides coverage for automobiles, homeowners, renters and umbrella lines, while the commercial business focuses on liability, workers’ compensation and specialty property solutions tailored to small and mid-sized enterprises.