Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

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

Allstate Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL traded up $0.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $207.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,926,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,052. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. Allstate has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $196.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.06.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Allstate by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,635,424 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,291,783,000 after buying an additional 389,426 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,496,306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,190,758,000 after purchasing an additional 126,922 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,334,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,799,681,000 after purchasing an additional 218,771 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,591,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,270,705,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,419,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,236,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191,147 shares in 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.