Critical Comparison: Kemper (KMPR) versus Its Peers

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) is one of 311 public companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Kemper to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kemper and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kemper	$4.79 billion	$143.30 million	-3.95
Kemper Competitors	$15.39 billion	$1.70 billion	34.44

Kemper’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Kemper. Kemper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Kemper and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kemper	-10.84%	2.89%	0.60%
Kemper Competitors	9.24%	-9.74%	4.23%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Kemper and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kemper	4	2	2	0	1.75
Kemper Competitors	3321	15621	16448	737	2.40

Kemper currently has a consensus price target of $37.67, suggesting a potential upside of 13.59%. As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 6.38%. Given Kemper’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Kemper is more favorable than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.2% of Kemper shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Kemper shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.6% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Kemper has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kemper’s rivals have a beta of -1.51, suggesting that their average stock price is 251% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Kemper pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Kemper pays out -15.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 30.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Kemper has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Kemper is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Kemper rivals beat Kemper on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. It provides preferred and specialty automobile, homeowners, renters, fire, umbrella, general liability, and various other property and casualty insurance to individuals, as well as commercial automobile insurance to businesses. The company also offers life insurance, including permanent and term insurance; and supplemental accident and health insurance products, such as Medicare supplement insurance, fixed hospital indemnity, home health care, specified disease, and accident-only plans to individuals in rural, suburban, and urban areas. It distributes its products through independent agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as Unitrin, Inc. and changed its name to Kemper Corporation in August 2011. Kemper Corporation was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.