AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.1667.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research cut AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $36.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of AB opened at $39.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.86. AllianceBernstein has a 52 week low of $32.28 and a 52 week high of $43.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $884.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.69 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 7.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 43.5% during the 1st 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. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 21,950 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter worth about $402,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the second quarter worth about $193,757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

About AllianceBernstein

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.