Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock Price

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $39.00 to $42.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on AB. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.17.

AllianceBernstein Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $40.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.97. AllianceBernstein has a twelve month low of $32.28 and a twelve month high of $43.30.

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

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter worth about $115,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 4,164.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 2,957 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm is a related adviser The firm manages separate client focused portfolios for its clients. The firm primarily invests in common and preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, government and corporate fxed-income securities, commodities, currencies, real estate-related assets and infation-protected securities.