CoreFirst Bank & Trust Makes New Investment in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Up 0.5 %

Allstate stock opened at $207.51 on Tuesday. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.27. 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 $55.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

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.