AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $35.55 and last traded at $35.63, with a volume of 266372 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $40.00 target price on AllianceBernstein in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.92.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.80.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS 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 business had revenue of $871.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 17,664.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,640,896 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,102,000 after buying an additional 3,620,401 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,412,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,355,000 after buying an additional 624,270 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,114,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 1,154.2% during the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 336,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,861,000 after buying an additional 309,673 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 1,243.9% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 218,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,417,000 after acquiring an additional 202,451 shares during the last quarter. 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.