Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) shares shot up 3.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $212.91 and last traded at $211.70. Approximately 1,018,564 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,495,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALL. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

Allstate Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $55.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.82.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. As a group, analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Company Profile

The Allstate Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty, and other insurance products in the United States and Canada. It operates in five segments: Allstate Protection; Protection Services; Allstate Health and Benefits; Run-off Property-Liability; and Corporate and Other segments.