AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.90.

AB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $40.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 43.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,375 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 8,304 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter valued at about $210,000. Curi Capital LLC acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP raised its position in AllianceBernstein by 438.1% in the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 108,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,415,000 after acquiring an additional 88,045 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $36.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.49. AllianceBernstein has a 52-week low of $34.92 and a 52-week high of $44.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.81.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 23.11%. The firm had revenue of $871.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. AllianceBernstein’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.15%.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.