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

Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $217.94.

Several analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 118,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,811,000 after acquiring an additional 21,149 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $170,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,350,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock opened at $207.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $194.25 and its 200-day moving average is $193.27. 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 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities research analysts expect that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a share 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 purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.