Verition Fund Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Kemper were worth $6,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in Kemper by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,333,000 after buying an additional 375,324 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kemper by 1,336.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 340,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,228,000 after purchasing an additional 317,212 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Kemper by 815.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 301,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,889,000 after purchasing an additional 268,569 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kemper by 254.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 349,822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 251,036 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Kemper by 65.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 623,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,012,000 after buying an additional 246,184 shares in the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kemper Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of KMPR stock opened at $71.49 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.08. Kemper Co. has a 1 year low of $43.18 and a 1 year high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. Research analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Kemper from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kemper in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.00.

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.