AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Receives $42.17 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.1667.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AB shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $36.76 on Monday. AllianceBernstein has a 1 year low of $32.28 and a 1 year high of $44.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.43.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $957.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.45 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 21.17%. AllianceBernstein’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the second quarter worth $3,135,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 131.6% in the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 137,341 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,249,000 after acquiring an additional 78,047 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter valued at $722,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 164,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,733,000 after acquiring an additional 48,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formula Growth Ltd. acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter worth $1,759,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

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.