Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Allstate from $144.00 to $138.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Allstate from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Roth Capital restated a buy rating on shares of Allstate in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Allstate from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $147.31.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $105.11 on Thursday. Allstate has a 1 year low of $104.32 and a 1 year high of $144.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.42 and its 200 day moving average is $129.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported ($1.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.37) by $0.01. Allstate had a negative return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 2.55%. The firm had revenue of $13.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Allstate will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 27th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.92%.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 29,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.18, for a total transaction of $3,951,735.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,236,512.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Allstate

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALL. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in Allstate by 4.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI lifted its holdings in Allstate by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 2,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Allstate by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 21,251 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 77.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Allstate

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The Allstate Corp. engages in the property and casualty insurance business and the provision of protection solutions. It operates through following business segments: Allstate Protection, Protection Services, Allstate Health and Benefits, Run-off Property-Liability, and Corporate and Other. The Allstate Protection segment offers private passenger auto, homeowners, other personal lines, and commercial insurance marketed under the Allstate, National General, and Answer Financial brand names.