Short Interest in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Drops By 7.0%

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 939,000 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the September 15th total of 1,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 340,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kemper Stock Up 2.3 %

Kemper stock opened at $64.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. Kemper has a 52-week low of $38.52 and a 52-week high of $65.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 1.11% and a return on equity of 7.27%. Kemper’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Kemper will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KMPR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Kemper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kemper from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Kemper in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kemper

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kemper by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,203,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $301,935,000 after buying an additional 28,095 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 157.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 8,131 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kemper in the 1st quarter worth $277,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Kemper by 257.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kemper during the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.