Allstate (NYSE:ALL) to Buyback $1.50 billion in Stock

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $199.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. Allstate has a 12-month low of $153.87 and a 12-month high of $209.88.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $216.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% 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.