Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New $1.71 Million Investment in Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 25,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,711,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMPR. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kemper by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,136,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $130,868,000 after acquiring an additional 79,622 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kemper by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,010,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $61,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,412 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kemper by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 543,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,080,000 after buying an additional 28,807 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kemper by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 425,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,252,000 after buying an additional 28,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KMPR. Raymond James lifted their target price on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.60.

Kemper Stock Up 0.3 %

KMPR stock opened at $67.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.29 and a 200-day moving average of $65.35. Kemper Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper’s payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Kemper 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.