Allstate Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ALL)

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 2,219 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 202% compared to the average daily volume of 735 put options.

Allstate Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:ALL opened at $209.04 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.48. Allstate has a 12 month low of $176.00 and a 12 month high of $215.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $11.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $5.69. The company had revenue of $17.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.59 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 35.42%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. Analysts expect that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ALL. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $215.00 price target (down previously from $245.00) on shares of Allstate in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Allstate in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Allstate to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suren Gupta sold 21,871 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total value of $4,706,857.91. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 100,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,660,025.66. The trade was a 17.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 28,807 shares of company stock worth $6,198,726 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,235,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,690,584,000 after purchasing an additional 435,145 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,859,517 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,557,362,000 after buying an additional 85,468 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 25.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,709,610 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,424,710,000 after buying an additional 2,374,684 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,714,629 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,345,961,000 after buying an additional 79,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Allstate by 2.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,670,113 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $940,140,000 after acquiring an additional 112,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

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.