Barclays Boosts AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Price Target to $42.00

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Barclays from $39.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.17.

AllianceBernstein Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AB stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 156,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.96. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $32.28 and a 12-month high of $43.30.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.01. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 7.09%.The company had revenue of $884.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.69 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter worth $115,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4,164.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth $163,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth $204,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.