AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s share price 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 traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.83.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

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

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.10%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.90%.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 4.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.9% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 7,907 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

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.