AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 78.8% to 794,711 shares as of August 31, representing approximately 0.9% of AllianceBernstein’s shares outstanding and 2.6 days of average trading volume.
• AllianceBernstein shares traded at $35.52, near their 52-week low of $34.92. The company narrowly missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, although revenue increased 7.5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $39.50 price target, while the company’s quarterly dividend implies a 9.2% yield and a high 97.04% payout ratio.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 794,711 shares, an increase of 78.8% from the August 15th total of 444,401 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 310,645 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AB traded down $0.55 on Wednesday, hitting $35.52. 442,397 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,191. AllianceBernstein has a fifty-two week low of $34.92 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79. The business's fifty day moving average is $36.91 and its 200 day moving average is $37.43.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $887.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $907.67 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 25.94%. AllianceBernstein's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is currently 97.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AllianceBernstein news, Director Charles Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total value of $185,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,378.41. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 193,741 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,455,000 after acquiring an additional 5,485 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 156,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,867,000 after buying an additional 5,075 shares in the last quarter. Almitas Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth about $1,381,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 115,126 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,311,000 after buying an additional 6,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 114.6% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 74,211 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,778,000 after buying an additional 39,636 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut AllianceBernstein from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $39.00 price objective on AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. NYSE: AB is a global investment management company that provides investment products, research and related services to institutional investors, financial advisers, individual investors and private-wealth clients. Its offerings span equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, alternatives and other portfolio solutions.

The company serves clients through institutional and retail channels, including pension plans, governments, foundations, insurance companies, financial intermediaries and high-net-worth individuals.

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