The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a decrease of 9.8% from the September 15th total of 1,930,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $193.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Allstate from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $215.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.06.

Insider Activity

In other Allstate news, EVP Elizabeth Brady sold 49,481 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.09, for a total transaction of $8,861,552.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,431,901.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Elizabeth Brady sold 49,481 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.09, for a total transaction of $8,861,552.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,163 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,901.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the 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 owns 88,552 shares in the company, valued at $15,880,915.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,530 shares of company stock worth $34,967,665 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Allstate by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 33.9% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

Allstate stock traded down $1.30 on Thursday, hitting $194.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 886,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,545,520. Allstate has a one year low of $121.70 and a one year high of $198.79. The firm has a market cap of $51.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $185.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.49.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $1.28. The firm had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.04 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($4.42) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 15.19 earnings per share for the current year.

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.