Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 2,743 Shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its position in shares of Kemper Co. (NYSE:KMPR) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 185,611 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,743 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Kemper were worth $12,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kemper by 141.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Kemper during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Kemper by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Kemper in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Kemper in the third quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Kemper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR opened at $66.97 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Kemper Co. has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $73.01.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts predict that Kemper Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.