AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $35.55 and last traded at $35.63, with a volume of 266372 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AB has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research cut AllianceBernstein from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $40.00 price objective on AllianceBernstein in a report on Monday, June 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.92.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.88.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 6.69%.The company had revenue of $871.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $894.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AB. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,849 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 0.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 4.5% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,915 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Mallini Complete Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mallini Complete Financial Planning LLC now owns 9,692 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.