Introduction
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) is one of the largest insurance providers in the United States. Allstate owns 15 subsidiary companies in the U.S. and also owns a subsidiary in Canada and two subsidiaries in India.
Allstate has a history of modest growth but its earnings are a little volatile. As an insurance company Allstate is exposed to catastrophe losses which can come from weather related events such as hurricanes and wildfires. Allstate has acquired a range of insurance businesses to diversify its risk profile away from its significant property exposure.
The stock is reasonably valued with a forward PE multiple of 9.6x and it pays a dividend that in recent years has increased at the rate of 13% per year. The forward dividend yield is currently at 2.15%.
Allstate is an insurance giant that will likely continue to expand at a modest rate with acquisitions playing a significant role.
Financials
Allstate has reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018 (data from Seeking Alpha ).
The company’s reported forth quarter revenue was down 5.8% from the fourth quarter of 2017. Allstate reported diluted earnings per share with a loss $0.91 compared to a profit of $3.36 from the fourth quarter of 2017.
On an annual basis, revenue for 2018 was up 1.1%. Allstate reported a 29% drop in profit with diluted earnings per share of $5.96 compared to $8.36 for the 2017 fiscal year. The 2018 EBIT was down a similar amount over the 2017 fiscal year.
Allstate paid a dividend of $1.84 for the 2018 fiscal year which was up from the dividend of $1.48 paid for the 2017 fiscal year. The current trailing yield is 1.96% and the forward yield is 2.15%. Over the last five years Allstate has increased its dividends every year at an average rate of 13% per year.
