Kemper Corporation $KMPR Shares Acquired by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 2,157.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,519 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Kemper were worth $980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 0.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,759,405 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $184,466,000 after acquiring an additional 20,899 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 14.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,263,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $83,357,000 after acquiring an additional 158,102 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 37.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,844 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,154,000 after acquiring an additional 342,649 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 8.9% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,192,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,730,000 after acquiring an additional 97,770 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 16.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 557,786 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,288,000 after acquiring an additional 77,764 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Up 0.1%

KMPR stock opened at $48.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.25. 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’s fifty day moving average is $52.33 and its 200 day moving average is $58.46. Kemper Corporation has a one year low of $45.02 and a one year high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Kemper Corporation will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.11%.

Kemper declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 12.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KMPR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kemper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “underweight” rating and set a $50.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Kemper in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kemper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kemper

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

Kemper 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.