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

Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $217.94.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $207.51 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.27. Allstate has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The company has a market capitalization of $55.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

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.