Written by StockNews.com

Allstate Corp. (ALL) late Tuesday posted market-beating first quarter earnings results, as its profitability improved amid lower catastrophe charges.

The Northbrook, IL-based insurance provider reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $1.64, which was $0.54 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.10 [and that]
• revenues rose 6.3% from last year to $9.43 billion, which likely does not compare with analysts’ view for $7.93 billion.

Allstate noted that:

• its combined ratio, an important metric used to measure an insurer’s profitability, fell 4.8 points to 93.6% in the latest period (lower is better) [and that]
• its underlying combined ratio, which excludes catastrophes, prior year reserve re-estimates, and amortization of purchased intangibles, fell 2.4 points to 84.8%.

... Tom Wilson, Chairman & CEO of The Allstate Corporation, commented via press release:

“We are off to a strong start in 2017 on both operating priorities and strategic initiatives.

The value of providing customers a broad range of protection products across North America was evident as significant catastrophe losses from large hail storms were offset by favorable winter weather that reduced the number of auto accidents. Overall net income was $666 million, $1.79 per share, for the first quarter, a significant increase compared to last year.

We made excellent progress on our operating priorities of better serving customers, achieving economic returns on capital and proactively managing investments.

First quarter results for the investment portfolio were solid as investment income increased to $748 million and total return was 1.6%.

Allstate Financial generated $110 million of operating income due to higher investment results.”

...Year-to-date, ALL has gained 10.91%, versus a 7.28% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

ALL currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #3 of 59 stocks in the Insurance – Property & Casualty category.