The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Increases Dividend to $1.00 Per Share

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 1.00 per share by the insurance provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a 8.7% increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92.

Allstate has increased its dividend by an average of 4.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Allstate has a dividend payout ratio of 18.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Allstate to earn $21.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.6%.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $200.87 on Friday. Allstate has a 1 year low of $155.59 and a 1 year high of $209.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.65.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Allstate stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 60.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

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.