Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target for AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) from $40.00 to $42.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating, indicating a potential downside of 2.51% from the current price.
• Several analysts have differing views on the stock, with TD Cowen lowering their target price to $34.00 and Goldman Sachs adjusting their rating from "buy" to "neutral."
• AllianceBernstein's recent earnings report showed a miss on EPS expectations, reporting $0.76 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.77, with revenue of $844.43 million.
• Insider trading activity included significant sell transactions by directors, with 2.70% of the stock owned by corporate insiders, signaling a potential lack of confidence in the short-term outlook.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Barclays from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential downside of 2.51% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised AllianceBernstein from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. TD Cowen cut their target price on AllianceBernstein from $37.50 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.25 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America cut AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.67.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

AllianceBernstein stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.08. The company had a trading volume of 32,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,692. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.82. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $30.57 and a 12-month high of $43.30.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $844.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $853.64 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 9.44%. AllianceBernstein's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In other AllianceBernstein news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $205,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $861,609.14. The trade was a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 4,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $196,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,626,981.60. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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