AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s share price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.15 and traded as low as $37.30. AllianceBernstein shares last traded at $37.6210, with a volume of 242,646 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.17.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.39.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 21.17%. The business had revenue of $957.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.2%. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

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.