Short Interest in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Grows By 61.6%

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the February 28th total of 2,450,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE ALL traded down $2.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,113,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,643. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $195.81 and a 200 day moving average of $193.85. Allstate has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Analysts expect that Allstate will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. 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 1.94%. Allstate’s payout ratio is 23.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Allstate by 5.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,605,000 after buying an additional 28,584 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Allstate by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,065,000 after purchasing an additional 48,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Allstate by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,413,000 after buying an additional 100,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

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.