Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Trading Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)’s stock price was up 3.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $212.91 and last traded at $211.70. Approximately 1,018,564 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,495,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Allstate Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.82.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA raised its holdings in Allstate by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 12,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,340,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Allstate by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Allstate by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

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.