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 objective hoisted by analysts at Barclays from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Barclays's price target points to a potential downside of 1.00% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AB. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America downgraded AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AllianceBernstein from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. TD Cowen reduced 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.67.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AB traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.43. 57,016 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 520,177. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.82. AllianceBernstein has a 12 month low of $30.57 and a 12 month high of $43.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.87.

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

Insider Transactions at AllianceBernstein

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AB. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,904 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 10,177 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 7,792 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 37,022 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,512,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

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.