AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 758,200 shares, a decrease of 39.3% from the January 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 603,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AB traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.21. The stock had a trading volume of 797,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,085. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.36. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $30.57 and a 12-month high of $41.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.99%. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is presently 112.90%.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AB shares. TD Cowen downgraded AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter worth about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.