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

StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Allstate from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Allstate from $213.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Allstate from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Allstate from $199.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $191.94.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $180.51 on Wednesday. Allstate has a twelve month low of $104.70 and a twelve month high of $184.30. The firm has a market cap of $47.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.41 and a 200-day moving average of $166.31.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $1.28. Allstate had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 5.03%. The company had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($4.42) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Allstate will post 13.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.24%.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total value of $16,140,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,880,915.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Brady sold 49,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.09, for a total value of $8,861,552.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,901.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total value of $16,140,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,880,915.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 201,938 shares of company stock worth $36,122,740. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Allstate by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 92,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,984,000 after acquiring an additional 4,987 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,927,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Allstate during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,051,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,042,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.