New York State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Kemper Corporation $KMPR

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,041 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Kemper worth $3,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 2,157.4% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 15,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 14,519 shares during the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kemper in the second quarter worth $1,547,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kemper in the second quarter worth $608,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Kemper by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Kemper by 24.9% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 15,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Up 0.4%

Kemper stock opened at $49.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.25. Kemper Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.02 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.90.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. Analysts predict that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is 24.11%.

Kemper announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on KMPR shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JMP Securities cut their price objective on Kemper from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kemper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jason N. Gorevic acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.14 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 22,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,618.08. The trade was a 9.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Laderman acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.37 per share, for a total transaction of $148,110.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 24,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,216,229.95. The trade was a 13.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.