Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.80.

Allstate Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $207.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $54.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $196.18 and its 200-day moving average is $194.06.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.