Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 54,279 Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 54,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 565.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 34,922 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 81.1% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,333,000 after purchasing an additional 375,324 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 244.2% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,376 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 7.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 37.4% during the third quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 168,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,307,000 after purchasing an additional 45,796 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Stock Performance

NYSE:KMPR opened at $64.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Kemper Co. has a 1-year low of $54.11 and a 1-year high of $73.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.97 and a 200 day moving average of $64.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMPR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kemper currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.60.

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.