AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Short Interest Up 12.3% in December

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 997,200 shares, a growth of 12.3% from the December 15th total of 887,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 364,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.40.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AllianceBernstein stock traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 621,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,595. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.47. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $30.57 and a 12-month high of $38.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.20.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.06%. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is presently 88.25%.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AB. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter worth $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 115.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 740.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,000 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.