Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the January 15th total of 1,060,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 346,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KMPR shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kemper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research 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, Kemper presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,105,859 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $73,363,000 after buying an additional 574,730 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 81.1% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,333,000 after buying an additional 375,324 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 916,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,661,000 after buying an additional 374,798 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kemper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,325,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kemper by 3,378.5% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 220,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,724,000 after buying an additional 214,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company's stock.

Kemper Price Performance

NYSE KMPR traded down $1.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.16. 331,378 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,379. 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 company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.88. Kemper has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $66.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.67.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40. Kemper had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 6.85%. Research analysts expect that Kemper will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from Kemper's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Kemper's dividend 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.