Short Interest in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Grows By 61.6%

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the February 28th total of 2,450,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ALL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ALL traded down $2.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $206.46. 2,113,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,572,643. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $195.81 and its 200 day moving average is $193.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. Allstate has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91.

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 return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities research analysts predict that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apella Capital LLC raised its stake 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 worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its holdings in Allstate by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 12,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,340,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Allstate by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Allstate by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Allstate by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.