Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.69.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Ally Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Compass Point raised Ally Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael George Rhodes acquired 25,634 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,634 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,033.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 8,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.81 per share, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 236,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,284,131.01. The trade was a 3.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 52,934 shares of company stock valued at $2,008,170 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ally Financial by 59.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 89.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ally Financial by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ally Financial Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Ally Financial stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, reaching $33.05. 563,857 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,511,716. The company has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. Ally Financial has a one year low of $29.52 and a one year high of $45.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.75 and a 200 day moving average of $36.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.15. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.24%.

About Ally Financial

Ally Financial Inc, a digital financial-services company, provides various digital financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda. The company operates through Automotive Finance Operations, Insurance Operations, Mortgage Finance Operations, and Corporate Finance Operations segments.