The Allstate Co. (ALL) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 10th

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 1.00 per share by the insurance provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92.

Allstate has increased its dividend by an average of 4.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Allstate has a payout ratio of 17.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Allstate to earn $21.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.1%.

Allstate Stock Performance

Allstate stock opened at $195.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. Allstate has a 1-year low of $153.87 and a 1-year high of $209.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Allstate will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

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.