AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.95.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity at AllianceBernstein

In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,935.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AllianceBernstein news, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $445,673.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $903,935.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the first quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 198.7% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $34.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.81. AllianceBernstein has a fifty-two week low of $25.83 and a fifty-two week high of $35.67.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.68%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $807.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. AllianceBernstein’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.13%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.84%.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm is a related adviser The firm manages separate client focused portfolios for its clients. The firm primarily invests in common and preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, government and corporate fxed-income securities, commodities, currencies, real estate-related assets and infation-protected securities.