Allstate Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ALL)

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 2,219 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 202% compared to the typical volume of 735 put options.

Allstate Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:ALL traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.17. 408,605 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,825. The company has a market cap of $54.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Allstate has a one year low of $176.00 and a one year high of $215.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.44.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $11.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $5.69. Allstate had a return on equity of 35.42% and a net margin of 12.53%.The firm had revenue of $17.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 12.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALL shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI set a $233.00 target price on shares of Allstate and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Allstate from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allstate news, insider Suren Gupta sold 21,871 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total transaction of $4,706,857.91. Following the sale, the insider owned 100,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,660,025.66. The trade was a 17.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 28,807 shares of company stock worth $6,198,726 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allstate by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Farmers National Bank lifted its position in Allstate by 1.2% during the third quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 26,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Allstate by 5.0% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Allstate by 6.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 65,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,961,000 after buying an additional 4,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 4.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,869 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 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.