Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

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

Allstate Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of ALL opened at $180.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. Allstate has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.31.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its 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 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 year.

Allstate declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $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.