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

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

Kemper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMPR traded up $2.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.52. 684,304 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 330,905. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.88. Kemper has a fifty-two week low of $54.11 and a fifty-two week high of $73.01.

Kemper Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Kemper’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Kemper’s payout ratio is currently 29.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMPR. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Kemper in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Kemper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Kemper from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.40.

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.