Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Stock Price

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $183.00 to $172.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.27.

Allstate Trading Up 0.9 %

Allstate stock opened at $192.58 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $196.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.22. Allstate has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.