Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Price Target Raised to $222.00

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $217.00 to $222.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ALL. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Allstate Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ALL opened at $190.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. Allstate has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $196.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.17.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Allstate by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,635,424 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,291,783,000 after purchasing an additional 389,426 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Allstate by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,334,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,799,681,000 after buying an additional 218,771 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Allstate by 157.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,591,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,270,705,000 after buying an additional 4,035,629 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,419,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,236,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $832,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,694 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.