Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $230.00 to $235.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Allstate traded as high as $214.55 and last traded at $213.59, with a volume of 235312 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $210.38.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Allstate to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Allstate in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Allstate from $254.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Allstate in a report on Friday, June 6th. They set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 10,634 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Allstate by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 25,905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $56.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.91 and a 200 day moving average of $198.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $5.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $2.74. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.74% and a net margin of 8.79%.The company had revenue of $15.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. Allstate’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 18.81%.

Allstate Company Profile

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.