Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Allstate (NYSE:ALL)

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 4,659 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 120% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,115 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Mario Rizzo sold 56,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.48, for a total value of $14,870,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 82,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,747,396.96. This represents a 40.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Dugenske sold 32,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.33, for a total transaction of $8,886,812.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,515,833.82. This represents a 71.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 5.9% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 38,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,554,000 after buying an additional 2,141 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Allstate by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,410 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners lifted its stake in Allstate by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 2,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in shares of Allstate by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 7,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 2.7% in the third quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,109,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Allstate from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Allstate from $226.00 to $221.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $250.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $270.19.

More Allstate News

Here are the key news stories impacting Allstate this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Allstate reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $9.76 per share, above analysts’ estimates of about $7, and added auto policies. Article: Allstate tops Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was $17.35 billion, up 0.5% year over year; coverage differed on how it compared with analyst expectations. Article: Allstate reports Q3 sales
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the EPS beat, net income fell about 45% year over year as catastrophe losses increased, a reminder that severe events can weigh heavily on results. Article: Allstate Q3 net income drops on higher catastrophe losses
• Negative Sentiment: Auto policies grew 3.4%, but the report also highlighted rising underlying loss costs while average premiums fell. That combination could squeeze underwriting margins if pricing does not keep pace with claims. Article: Allstate auto policies and loss costs

Allstate Trading Up 3.5%

ALL stock traded up $9.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $278.39. 294,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,738,638. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $245.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.15. Allstate has a 1 year low of $191.13 and a 1 year high of $280.23.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $9.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $2.87. The business had revenue of $17.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 18.97% and a return on equity of 41.64%. The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $11.17 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Allstate will post 36.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Company Profile

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) is an insurance company that provides protection products and related services primarily in the United States. Its offerings include automobile, homeowners, renters, condominium, motorcycle and other personal property and casualty insurance, distributed through agents, brokers, direct channels and digital platforms.

The company also provides roadside assistance, identity-protection services and protection plans for consumer products. Through its acquisition of National General, Allstate expanded its presence in independent-agent distribution and specialty personal insurance.