AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Short Interest Update

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 794,711 shares, a growth of 78.8% from the August 15th total of 444,401 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 310,645 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AB. Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $39.00 price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AB stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $36.08. The stock had a trading volume of 322,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,150. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.79. AllianceBernstein has a 12 month low of $34.92 and a 12 month high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm had revenue of $887.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $907.67 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AllianceBernstein news, Director Charles Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total value of $185,850.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,378.41. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,908,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,293 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter valued at about $420,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,297 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 3,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 26.3% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 56,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 11,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) is a global investment management company that provides investment products, research and related services to institutional investors, financial advisers, individual investors and private-wealth clients. Its offerings span equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, alternatives and other portfolio solutions.

The company serves clients through institutional and retail channels, including pension plans, governments, foundations, insurance companies, financial intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals.