Sheets Smith Investment Management Buys Shares of 8,600 The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Sheets Smith Investment Management bought a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 8,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,658,000. Allstate accounts for approximately 1.4% of Sheets Smith Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL stock opened at $206.60 on Monday. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91. The firm has a market cap of $54.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.