Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Ally Financial reached a new 52-week high after Citigroup upgraded its price target from $59.00 to $70.00, currently maintaining a buy rating.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.99 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $0.78, with a net margin of 7.64% and revenues of $2.08 billion.
• Ally Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 77.92%.

Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $59.00 to $70.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ally Financial traded as high as $43.04 and last traded at $42.85, with a volume of 259267 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.22.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ally Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $47.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 1.3% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 19,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 26,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 40,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,472,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 45.1% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 975 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 59,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company's stock.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.82.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 7.64%.Ally Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio is 77.92%.

Ally Financial Company Profile

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.