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

Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $217.94.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Allstate from $216.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Allstate Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $195.01 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.71. The stock has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. 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 $153.87 and a 12-month high of $209.88.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 2.05%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.66%.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Allstate

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 5.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,605,000 after acquiring an additional 28,584 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Allstate by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,413,000 after purchasing an additional 100,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 38.0% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,067,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Allstate

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.