Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Research Coverage Started at William Blair

William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Allstate (NYSE:ALL) in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a sector outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Allstate in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

Allstate Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ALL stock opened at $208.10 on Friday. Allstate has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $213.18. 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 fifty day moving average is $199.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.