AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.73, but opened at $37.95. AllianceBernstein shares last traded at $37.99, with a volume of 1,078,137 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AB. TD Cowen downgraded AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.12%. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is presently 112.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

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.