Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Holdings Lifted by Phocas Financial Corp.

Phocas Financial Corp. increased its position in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 37.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,796 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.26% of Kemper worth $10,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Kemper by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Kemper by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Kemper by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 66,610 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,165 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in Kemper during the 1st quarter valued at $228,000. Finally, Natixis Investment Managers International purchased a new stake in shares of Kemper in the first quarter valued at $556,000. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kemper Stock Performance

KMPR opened at $70.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.90 and a 200-day moving average of $61.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $40.93 and a 52-week high of $71.57. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.85.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.28. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.44) earnings per share. Kemper’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kemper Co. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Kemper in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Kemper from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kemper from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.20.

About Kemper

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.