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

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $39.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $37.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.81. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $34.92 and a 12-month high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $871.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.9%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 102.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AB. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 21.1% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 378.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,671 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Blue Fin Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.0% during the first quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 26,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 115,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the period. 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.