The Allstate Corporation ALL recently announced total catastrophe (CAT) losses for July and August at $814 million or $643 million after taxes. For August alone, the amount was estimated at $272 million or $215 million after taxes. August year-to-date catastrophe losses came in at $3.67 billion.

In the first half of 2024, its catastrophe losses dropped 35% year over year to $2.85 billion. The August catastrophe losses include 15 events estimated at $306 million. This follows July’s catastrophe losses of $587 million from 20 events. Last month, it said that catastrophe losses for July included the initial loss estimate from Hurricane Beryl of $226 million.

Beyond ALL’s Losses

Investors are showing confidence, pushing the stock to a 52-week high. The stock closed at $191 on Friday while registering a 52-week high of $193.19. The company continues to benefit from strategic rate increases, higher market-based investment income and growing insurance premiums. Improved Property-Liability underwriting, driven by its profit improvement plan and lower expenses, is also boosting performance.

Shares of Allstate have jumped 17.6% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 10.4%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Should You Book Profits Now?

Despite hitting a 52-week high, it’s still a good time to hold onto Allstate. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is benefiting from growing premiums, improving underwriting performance and efficiency-boosting initiatives. Allstate is shedding non-core assets to focus on more profitable areas. For instance, it's selling its Employer Voluntary Benefits business to StanCorp Financial Group for $2 billion in cash. This sale will allow Allstate to exit most of its health and benefits operations and focus more on its core Property-Liability and Protection Services businesses.

The positive estimate revisions reflect analysts' confidence in Allstate's performance and market potential. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings is projected at $15.20 per share, a significant increase from 95 cents a year ago, indicating strong growth potential moving forward.

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Better-Ranked Stocks

Investors interested in the broader Finance space may look at some better-ranked players like MGIC Investment Corporation MTG, Jackson Financial Inc. JXN and Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL. While MGIC Investment currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Jackson Financial and Arch Capital carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.