StockNews.com Begins Coverage on AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Credit Suisse Group upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $43.50 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $33.89 on Thursday. AllianceBernstein has a 52-week low of $31.31 and a 52-week high of $45.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.12.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $832.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $891.82 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. AllianceBernstein’s revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kate C. Burke sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.04, for a total value of $438,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,474,783.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AB. First Republic Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 78,239 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,743,000 after acquiring an additional 10,549 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,013,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $525,000. Institutional investors own 11.47% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

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AllianceBernstein Holding LP engages in the provision of research, investment management, and related services. It offers investment trusts, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other investment vehicles. The company was founded in October 2000 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.