Barclays Cuts AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Price Target to $39.00

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $42.00 to $39.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “negative” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.83.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AB stock opened at $40.21 on Thursday. AllianceBernstein has a fifty-two week low of $32.28 and a fifty-two week high of $43.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $884.67 million during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.86 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 43.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,375 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 8,304 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the second quarter worth $193,757,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 66.5% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,512 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,599 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter valued at $245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.