The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Short Interest Up 61.6% in March

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the February 28th total of 2,450,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Allstate Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ALL stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $206.41. The stock had a trading volume of 636,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,569,006. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Allstate has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $195.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.91.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 118,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,811,000 after purchasing an additional 21,149 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Allstate by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,350,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

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.