Portolan Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Portolan Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 83,103 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned 0.36% of Kemper worth $15,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kemper by 141.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Kemper during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Kemper by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 715 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kemper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Kemper during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMPR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kemper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.60.

Kemper Trading Down 1.3 %

KMPR stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.77. 400,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,790. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.28 and a 200-day moving average of $65.47. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $53.57 and a 52-week high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a net margin of 6.85% and a return on equity of 14.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper's payout ratio is currently 26.07%.

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.