The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $219.80.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Allstate by 5.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $109,605,000 after buying an additional 28,584 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Allstate by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Allstate by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,065,000 after purchasing an additional 48,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Allstate by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,413,000 after purchasing an additional 100,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $206.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Allstate has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.85. The firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

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.