NEW YORK (AP) — An analyst lowered his rating on shares of Allstate Corp. to “Hold” from “Buy” on Friday, saying he's skeptical on management's growth targets.
THE SPARK: Keith F. Walsh said that while he agrees that there is significant value in the company, he believes the insurer's pace of improvement will take time. Walsh cut his price target on the stock by $1 to $36.
THE ANALYSIS: “While management presented a story of how they stabilized the franchise during the financial crisis, we came away less convinced as to the timing of improvement to overall returns,” the analyst said in a note to clients.
The analyst said he's not confident that Allstate's Homeowners segment can produce expected returns “given management's inability to improve profitability at that unit for several years.” Management also expects auto policy declines to continue this year. It sees low single-digit growth through 2013.
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