AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.83.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the third quarter worth $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the third quarter worth $36,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

NYSE AB opened at $37.59 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.20. AllianceBernstein has a one year low of $30.57 and a one year high of $41.37. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. Equities analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.90%.

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.