Tang Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Tang Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 322.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,319 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,059 shares during the quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $1,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ALL shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.20.

Allstate Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Allstate stock traded down $1.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.09. 1,058,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,070. The stock has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $199.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.02. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. 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 (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

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.