Equitable Holdings, a major holder of Alliance Bernstein (AB), recently increased their position by 500,000 shares. The buy increased their total holdings by 12%, and came to a total cost just over $17 million.
This marks the first insider buy at the company over the past two years. Insiders have been occasional sellers of shares, particularly the company CFO back in 2023, and the company’s Head of Global Investments sold of about half his stake back in July.
Overall, Alliance Bernstein insiders own about 1.5% of shares.
The asset manager is up 13% over the past year, far lagging the overall stock market’s returns of about 34%. However, AB has managed to increase earnings by 87%, suggesting that shares could see a catch-up rally at some point.
Shares also look like a value play here, trading at 10 times forward earnings.
Action to take: Shares are trading near the high-end of their 52-week range and have traded that way for months.
At current prices, AB pays an 8.2% dividend. Patient investors may like shares here, with an eye towards high current income and future capital gains.
For traders, shares look likely to break higher once their current sideways range ends. The January 2025 $35 calls, last trading for about $1.40, could see mid-double-digit returns or better on a break higher, possibly from a year-end rally.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.