AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $35.55 and last traded at $35.63, with a volume of 266372 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded AllianceBernstein from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $40.00 target price on AllianceBernstein in a report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.92.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.80.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 6.69%.The firm had revenue of $871.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 102.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in AllianceBernstein by 17,664.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,640,896 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $140,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,620,401 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,412,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,355,000 after purchasing an additional 624,270 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 51.8% during 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. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 499,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 348,853 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,422,000 after buying an additional 12,351 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.