Allstate’s (ALL) Strong-Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James

Raymond James reissued their strong-buy rating on shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL) in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $240.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ALL. StockNews.com raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.60.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $200.38 on Monday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $198.73 and a 200-day moving average of $194.90.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Allstate by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 136,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,032,000 after purchasing an additional 6,616 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,503,000 after acquiring an additional 5,980 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,397,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its stake in Allstate by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 7,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

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.