Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 139,029 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,748,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Kemper by 125.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 284,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,693,000 after buying an additional 158,488 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in 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. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kemper during the first quarter worth approximately $1,622,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kemper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,331,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 381,410 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,656,000 after acquiring an additional 98,200 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jason Gorevic bought 5,000 shares of Kemper stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.91 per share, for a total transaction of $129,550.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 31,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $823,989.82. The trade was a 18.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen McAnena bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.50 per share, with a total value of $79,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $820,042.50. This represents a 10.74% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 14,000 shares of company stock worth $367,880. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMPR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kemper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Kemper from $81.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Kemper from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kemper has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $43.25.

Kemper Stock Performance

NYSE:KMPR opened at $27.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 1.04. Kemper Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.69 and a twelve month high of $54.59.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its 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. Kemper had a negative net margin of 10.84% and a positive return on equity of 2.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kemper Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently -15.24%.

Kemper 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.