Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.27.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $194.58. The stock had a trading volume of 536,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,741. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. 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 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $197.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.39.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,635,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,291,783,000 after acquiring an additional 389,426 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,334,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,799,681,000 after buying an additional 218,771 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Allstate by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,591,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,270,705,000 after buying an additional 4,035,629 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,419,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,236,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191,147 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $832,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685,694 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.