Two Sigma Advisers LP Buys 88,800 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR - Free Report) by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 88,800 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.37% of Kemper worth $14,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Kemper by 65.2% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 623,832 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,012,000 after purchasing an additional 246,184 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kemper by 244.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 13,376 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in Kemper by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,333,000 after acquiring an additional 375,324 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kemper by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,637,000 after acquiring an additional 7,127 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Kemper by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 68,604 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 23,043 shares during the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Kemper in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kemper from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kemper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kemper presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $79.00.

Kemper Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of KMPR stock traded down $2.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $68.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 294,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,695. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. Kemper Co. has a 52-week low of $47.12 and a 52-week high of $73.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.47.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. Kemper had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.44) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Kemper's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.52%.

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.