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

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

AB has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays started coverage on AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.95.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of AB traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.82. The stock has a market capitalization 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.68%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.42 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. AllianceBernstein’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 198.7% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.