Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Increases Position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 34,966.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 157,350 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Kemper worth $10,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Kemper by 294.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,718 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 7,257 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kemper by 565.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,094 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 34,922 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kemper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $275,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 72.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,067 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 12,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kemper by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,881 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $61,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,412 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KMPR. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Kemper Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of KMPR traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $56.06. 86,914 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,676. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.05. Kemper Co. has a 12-month low of $53.57 and a 12-month high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Kemper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Kemper's dividend payout ratio is 26.07%.

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.