UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group lowered Ally Financial’s price target from $50 to $48 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 24.37% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $47.93, despite mixed recommendations from firms including Wells Fargo.
• Ally reported quarterly earnings of $1.34 per share and revenue of $2.35 billion, exceeding estimates; shares recently traded at $38.59, near the lower end of their 52-week range.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.37% from the stock's previous close.

ALLY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ally Financial from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $56.00 target price on Ally Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ally Financial from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Ally Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ally Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.93.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALLY traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.59. 3,559,634 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,590,840. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Ally Financial has a 52-week low of $35.92 and a 52-week high of $47.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.92. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.11.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Ally Financial's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ally Financial news, insider Kathleen Patterson sold 12,831 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.65, for a total transaction of $495,918.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 67,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,619,735.65. This represents a 15.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Stephanie Richard sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total value of $221,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 88,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,933,241.21. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Ally Financial in the second quarter worth about $17,613,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,195,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 183.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 274,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,625,000 after buying an additional 177,832 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,240,650,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 7.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,889,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,360,000 after buying an additional 190,514 shares during the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ally Financial Company Profile

Ally Financial Inc is a digital financial services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ALLY. The company primarily serves consumers, automotive dealers and businesses in the United States through online and branchless banking and financing platforms.

Ally's automotive finance business provides retail installment loans and leases to consumers and floorplan financing and other services to automotive dealers. Its consumer banking operations, conducted through Ally Bank, offer deposit products such as savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, along with consumer lending products.

The company also provides credit cards and commercial financing, and offers investment and brokerage services through Ally Invest.

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