AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 351,727 shares, a growth of 264.7% from the January 15th total of 96,445 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 604,948 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 604,948 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

AB stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.86. The stock had a trading volume of 224,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,529. AllianceBernstein has a twelve month low of $32.28 and a twelve month high of $44.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.87.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 19.69% and a net margin of 6.62%.The business had revenue of $957.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 114.67%.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 43.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,375 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 8,304 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,107 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.8% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,256 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 12.1% during the second quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 60,293 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 6,490 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AB. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research cut AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.17.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.