Evercore ISI Reiterates Buy Rating for AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB)

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Evercore ISI in a research report issued on Tuesday, Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AB. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.95.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AB traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $34.91. The company had a trading volume of 76,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,677. AllianceBernstein has a 52-week low of $25.83 and a 52-week high of $35.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.82. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.24.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $807.42 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AllianceBernstein

In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at $903,935.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at $903,935.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $445,673.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 8.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,873,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $97,090,000 after buying an additional 234,253 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 851,533 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,423,000 after buying an additional 242,765 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter worth about $23,660,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 426.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 273,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 221,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 230,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,156,000 after purchasing an additional 88,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.