Barclays Lowers Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Price Target to $172.00

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Barclays from $183.00 to $172.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 10.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.27.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of Allstate stock traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $192.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,258,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,361. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Allstate has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The firm has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.17.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction 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 $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 7.9% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sard Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Davis Capital Management grew its position in shares of Allstate by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 12,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,595,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the first quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

About Allstate

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.