Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $201.21 and last traded at $201.19, with a volume of 571711 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $197.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Allstate from $216.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.19.

Allstate Stock Up 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.36. The firm has a market cap of $53.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.48.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $1.71. Allstate had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $16.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 36,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.38, for a total transaction of $6,959,916.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,364 shares in the company, valued at $5,236,922.32. This represents a 57.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 18,472.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,052,687 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $199,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,019 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,000,866 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,114,000 after acquiring an additional 472,040 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 181.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 719,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $114,955,000 after acquiring an additional 464,337 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,819,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Allstate by 3,839.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 416,117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $66,417,000 after purchasing an additional 405,553 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently 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.