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Allstate's Property and Casualty Business Aids Top Line
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The Allstate Corporation (ALL - Free Report) looks poised for growth on the back of its strong Property and Casualty business, which has been growing premium for the company from the past many years. This upside has also aided the overall revenue base.
The company carries on with its Property and Liability business via four brands, namely Encompass, Answer Financial, Allstate and Ensurance to cater to different kinds of customers. It is striving to better serve its clients via its fast claims processing through QuickFoto Claim, which targets to settle claims within hours rather than days. The company is accelerating growth through expansion of products and services.
Allstate is also witnessing progress from improving combined ratio via improved auto frequency.
The company is building its long-term growth platforms with the development of its services business. The acquisition of SquareTrade, a consumer plan protection provider, has given a significant breadth to this business. Since its buyout in 2016, SquareTrade’s exceptional customer service, innovative product design plus analytics and supply-chain logistics have led to higher revenues. This is also congruent with Allstate’s history of product innovation.
Allstate’s unit Arity, launched in 2016, has helped the company is pricing its policy better via the use of telematics.
Allstate is also poised to benefit from the rising interest rates after seeing volatility in net investment income since the past several years due to low interest rates.
A reduction in tax rates owing to the tax reform should contribute to the company’s growth. Allstate is taking advantage of decreased taxes to increase growth, enhance the employer value proposition and also raise shareholders’ returns. It will be investing in marketing, distribution, telematics, new products as well as technology to expand in many of its markets.
The company enjoys a strong balance sheet position and manages capital well. The company’s free cash flow has been increasing over the years. Disciplined capital management by way of share buybacks and dividend hikes is also impressive. In February, Allstate hiked its quarterly dividend by 24%. Its current dividend yield of 1.85% is considerably higher than 0.5% for the industry.
Moreover, Allstate’s debt-to-capital ratio has declined to 27.9% as of Jun 30, 2018, down 160 basis points year over year. We believe that the company’s financial strength will consistently boost investors’ confidence in the stock.
In six months’ time, shares of the company have gained 3.9% against the industry's decline of 0.2%.
Arch Capital provides property, casualty and mortgage insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It delivered a 13.46% positive surprise in the earlier reported quarter.
American Financial provides property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Last reported quarter, it pulled off an 8.51% earnings surprise.
Berkshire Hathaway engages in insurance, freight rail transportation and utility businesses. It came up with a 22.91% beat in the previously reported quarter.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
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Allstate's Property and Casualty Business Aids Top Line
The Allstate Corporation (ALL - Free Report) looks poised for growth on the back of its strong Property and Casualty business, which has been growing premium for the company from the past many years. This upside has also aided the overall revenue base.
The company carries on with its Property and Liability business via four brands, namely Encompass, Answer Financial, Allstate and Ensurance to cater to different kinds of customers. It is striving to better serve its clients via its fast claims processing through QuickFoto Claim, which targets to settle claims within hours rather than days. The company is accelerating growth through expansion of products and services.
Allstate is also witnessing progress from improving combined ratio via improved auto frequency.
The company is building its long-term growth platforms with the development of its services business. The acquisition of SquareTrade, a consumer plan protection provider, has given a significant breadth to this business. Since its buyout in 2016, SquareTrade’s exceptional customer service, innovative product design plus analytics and supply-chain logistics have led to higher revenues. This is also congruent with Allstate’s history of product innovation.
Allstate’s unit Arity, launched in 2016, has helped the company is pricing its policy better via the use of telematics.
Allstate is also poised to benefit from the rising interest rates after seeing volatility in net investment income since the past several years due to low interest rates.
A reduction in tax rates owing to the tax reform should contribute to the company’s growth. Allstate is taking advantage of decreased taxes to increase growth, enhance the employer value proposition and also raise shareholders’ returns. It will be investing in marketing, distribution, telematics, new products as well as technology to expand in many of its markets.
The company enjoys a strong balance sheet position and manages capital well. The company’s free cash flow has been increasing over the years. Disciplined capital management by way of share buybacks and dividend hikes is also impressive. In February, Allstate hiked its quarterly dividend by 24%. Its current dividend yield of 1.85% is considerably higher than 0.5% for the industry.
Moreover, Allstate’s debt-to-capital ratio has declined to 27.9% as of Jun 30, 2018, down 160 basis points year over year. We believe that the company’s financial strength will consistently boost investors’ confidence in the stock.
In six months’ time, shares of the company have gained 3.9% against the industry's decline of 0.2%.
Allstate carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in property and casualty industry can check out a few better-ranked stocks like Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL - Free Report) , American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Arch Capital provides property, casualty and mortgage insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It delivered a 13.46% positive surprise in the earlier reported quarter.
American Financial provides property and casualty insurance products in the United States. Last reported quarter, it pulled off an 8.51% earnings surprise.
Berkshire Hathaway engages in insurance, freight rail transportation and utility businesses. It came up with a 22.91% beat in the previously reported quarter.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>