Connable Office Inc. Sells 324 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Connable Office Inc. reduced its stake in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Kemper were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Kemper by 565.8% in 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. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in Kemper by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 838,085 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,333,000 after acquiring an additional 375,324 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Kemper by 244.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 13,376 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Kemper by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 108,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,637,000 after acquiring an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its stake 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 valued at $10,307,000 after purchasing an additional 45,796 shares in the last quarter. 86.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports 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 note on Thursday, December 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Kemper from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Kemper Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:KMPR opened at $67.59 on Friday. Kemper Co. has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $73.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.03 and a 200 day moving average of $64.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.