Barclays Raises AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Price Target to $39.00

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Barclays from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.62% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.80.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AB stock opened at $38.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.24. AllianceBernstein has a fifty-two week low of $25.83 and a fifty-two week high of $38.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.13.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,700. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $139,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at $903,935.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the firm’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 value of $445,673.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,700. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 80.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AllianceBernstein by 1,354.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 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.