Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $864,000 Investment in The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in The Allstate Corporation, purchasing 4,172 shares valued at approximately $864,000 in the first quarter.
• The Allstate Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.94, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.20.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, with a 2.0% dividend yield, to be paid on October 1st.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,172 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALL. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the first quarter worth $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Allstate by 113.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate during the first quarter worth $43,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the first quarter worth $51,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $200.40. 1,136,388 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,202,326. The Allstate Corporation has a 52-week low of $176.00 and a 52-week high of $214.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $52.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $5.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $2.74. Allstate had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 28.74%. The firm had revenue of $15.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALL. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Allstate in a research note on Monday, August 4th. William Blair began coverage on Allstate in a research note on Friday, June 6th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Allstate to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Allstate from $254.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $202.00 target price on Allstate and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.21.

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.