Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.60.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $197.20 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.83. Allstate has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The company has a market cap of $52.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALL. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the first quarter worth $140,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Allstate by 0.7% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,961,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the first quarter valued at $671,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.