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

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.95.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays started coverage on AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

NYSE AB opened at $34.44 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.24. 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 quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.84%.

Insider Activity

In other AllianceBernstein news, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $348,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at $903,935.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $348,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,500,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Fin Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 41,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2,811.0% in the 4th quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 222,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,917,000 after purchasing an additional 215,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 591.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 46,065 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 39,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

About AllianceBernstein

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.