Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Ally Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from 16 brokerages. Fourteen analysts rate it a buy, and the average 1-year price target is about $54.14.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.11 versus the expected $0.93 and revenue of $2.18 billion versus $2.14 billion. Revenue rose 36.4% year over year.
• Ally Financial also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.6%. Meanwhile, the stock was trading near $45.44, close to its 52-week high of $47.27.

Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.1429.

ALLY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Ally Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Ally Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of ALLY stock opened at $45.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.41. Ally Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.92 and a fifty-two week high of $47.27.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 16.47%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 36.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ally Financial will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ally Financial

In other news, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total value of $210,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,958,083.78. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Douglas R. Timmerman sold 39,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total value of $1,792,119.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 477,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,574,411.59. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALLY. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Ally Financial by 30.8% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company's stock.

About Ally Financial

Ally Financial Inc is a leading digital financial services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers a comprehensive suite of banking, lending, and insurance products designed for retail and commercial customers. Through its online-only platform, Ally Bank provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and home mortgages, emphasizing competitive rates and user-friendly mobile and web experiences.

In addition to its banking operations, Ally Financial is a major player in automotive financing and leasing.

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