AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Receives Hold (C) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein's stock has received a "hold (C)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating a cautious outlook for the company's shares.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for AllianceBernstein, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average target price of $40.67.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.76, slightly below the consensus estimate, with a revenue of $844.43 million.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on AB. Barclays lifted their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research lowered AllianceBernstein from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AllianceBernstein from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $42.25 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.67.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AB traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.74. The stock had a trading volume of 26,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,729. The business's fifty day moving average is $39.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.44. AllianceBernstein has a twelve month low of $32.28 and a twelve month high of $43.30. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.82.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.01). AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The firm had revenue of $844.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. AllianceBernstein's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter valued at about $87,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 360.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 5,412 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 28.0% during the first quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,856 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 12,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 2.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 182,724 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,338 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.