Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.40, Zacks reports. Kemper had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 5.86%.

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of Kemper stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $69.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 341,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,325. Kemper has a one year low of $54.11 and a one year high of $73.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.88.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMPR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Kemper from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. 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. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com raised Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.