The Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL)

"When trade times are measured in microseconds, but business value is generated over years, there's a very real potential for a huge gap to open between a stock's price and a company's value. It's by looking for and exploiting those gaps -- and then waiting for the short-sighted computers to catch up with the long term reality -- that you have an edge over today's high tech traders.

One straightforward way to find such opportunities is to look for profitable companies that the market has discarded as being worth more dead than alive..."

(Excerpt from a draft CAPScall article with estimated publication date of 29-DEC-2011)

Allstate is a solid company that's trading at a huge discount to its book value. It should continue to do better as it embraces more of a direct-to-consumer sales model and begins to shift away from using agents. Add in a solid dividend and you've got a buy.

Deej

value

low p/e, strong yield, high M* and S&P ratings

solid

too many recent claims from disasters

It's never too early to go Christmas shopping. Picking a broad basket of stocks that seem favorable when expecting a short term bull rally.

Experienced Company, currently cleaning up the agent pool and insurance books, has a lot of potential.

Allstate will grow in profitablity as property insurance benefits from the eventual real estate recovery and the middle class's recovery in jobs, investments, and purchasing power.

Very solid fundamentals.
EPS 2008: 3.22 p/e: 9.18
EPS 2009: 3.42 p/e 8.64
EPS 2010: 4.2 p/e 7.04

a good insurance company

fool

GOOD STOCK

Now is time to buy low before Allstate rebounds and cuts some of their liabalities

Sorta had to.

Corrupt managers, team groomed and picked by Allstate CEO, Ed Liddy before he left for AIG to run it, yes, one of the largest INS..CO.'s in the world...Managed by the biggest crook, the AIG that was first to be bailedout, then they all went to Resort...That Ed Liddy. His winning ways of management are still at Allstate Ins. today. Balance sheets show cash from other companies owned by them, loaned to cover quarterly reports...never a bad day, that way. Experts at paying consulting companies...owned by family and board members. They just don't regulate them like they used to...Stockholders beware.

Current price is about 8-10 $ below Book Price. I was employed by them for 38 years and know the corporate culture.They are a very conservative group and will not give away the store with lower premiums and they have a great handle on cost and claims frequency.

The real unknown is asbestos litigation costs going forward.

great company

Just rated the worst insurance company in America in an AAJ report. Consistantly denies claims and screws consumers on a daily basis. Expect profits to dwindle.