AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.73, but opened at $37.95. AllianceBernstein shares last traded at $37.99, with a volume of 1,078,137 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AB shares. TD Cowen lowered AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $38.50 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. On average, research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.12%. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AB. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.9% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 7,907 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. 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.