Analysts Set The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Target Price at $217.94

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $217.94.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Allstate Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ALL opened at $209.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $55.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $195.46 and its 200 day moving average is $193.65.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate 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 transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Allstate by 38.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at about $240,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 6,396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,694,000 after purchasing an additional 9,336 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.