Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 339.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,609 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,878 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Allstate by 1.2% in the fourth 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Allstate by 2.4% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 218,771 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Allstate by 157.9% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 4,035,629 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in Allstate by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $832,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685,694 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Allstate in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL traded up $2.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $209.65. 2,491,873 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,612,662. 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 Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $199.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.76. The company has a market cap of $55.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.