The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,210,000 shares, an increase of 27.0% from the September 30th total of 1,740,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Allstate Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $186.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Allstate has a one year low of $123.42 and a one year high of $198.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $188.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.85.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $1.28. Allstate had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The business had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($4.42) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Allstate will post 15.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Allstate from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Allstate from $177.00 to $175.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total value of $16,140,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,552 shares in the company, valued at $15,880,915.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total value of $16,140,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,880,915.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Toohey sold 16,682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.17, for a total value of $3,005,595.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,873 shares in the company, valued at $877,968.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,530 shares of company stock valued at $34,967,665. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allstate

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Allstate by 70.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate in the second quarter valued at $38,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Allstate by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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