Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Upgraded by Argus to Buy Rating

Argus upgraded shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat reports.

ALL has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $216.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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 given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Allstate Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $201.87 on Monday. Allstate has a 12-month low of $153.87 and a 12-month high of $209.88. The company has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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, 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%. Research analysts forecast that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued 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 yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

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

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors 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.