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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 339.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,609 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,878 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 12,135 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,340,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allstate by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allstate by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allstate has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Allstate Trading Down 0.9%

ALL stock opened at $200.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The stock has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50-day moving average is $199.22 and its 200 day moving average is $195.38.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.13 earnings per share. Allstate's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.32%.

Allstate 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.

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