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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ALL stock traded down $2.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $206.46. 2,113,268 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,572,643. Allstate has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The stock has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.85.

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%. Equities analysts predict that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Allstate by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,605,000 after purchasing an additional 28,584 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $944,000 after buying an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,297,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,065,000 after acquiring an additional 48,382 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Allstate by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,413,000 after acquiring an additional 100,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

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.