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

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.25.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AB. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

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

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE AB opened at $38.44 on Tuesday. AllianceBernstein has a 52 week low of $35.59 and a 52 week high of $44.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.40.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 6.69%.The firm had revenue of $871.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. AllianceBernstein’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.