Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 158,488 Shares of Kemper Corporation $KMPR

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) by 125.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 284,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 158,488 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kemper were worth $8,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Kemper by 4.7% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Kemper by 7.9% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 27.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kemper by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Kemper by 187.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.23% of the company’s stock.

Kemper Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of KMPR opened at $28.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. Kemper Corporation has a 1-year low of $22.69 and a 1-year high of $62.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.01 and a 200 day moving average of $31.10.

Kemper (NYSE:KMPR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.60). The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Kemper had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 0.89%.Kemper’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kemper Corporation will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Kemper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Kemper’s dividend payout ratio is 206.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KMPR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Kemper in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Kemper from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Kemper from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

About Kemper

Kemper Corporation (NYSE:KMPR) is a diversified insurance holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed through the rebranding of Unitrin in 2010, Kemper has established a nationwide presence by offering a broad array of property and casualty insurance products. The company distributes its products through independent agents, brokers and direct-to-consumer channels, serving both individual policyholders and commercial clients.

The personal insurance segment provides coverage for automobiles, homeowners, renters and umbrella lines, while the commercial business focuses on liability, workers’ compensation and specialty property solutions tailored to small and mid-sized enterprises.