Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Stock Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia significantly increased its ownership in Ally Financial Inc. by 206.8%, acquiring an additional 290,235 shares, bringing its total to 430,577 shares worth approximately $15.7 million.
• Ally Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.78, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.0%.
• The company declared a $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, which yields 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 77.92%.

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) by 206.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 430,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 290,235 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.14% of Ally Financial worth $15,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Ally Financial by 125.7% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Ally Financial by 59.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ally Financial in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Ally Financial by 22.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.76% of the company's stock.

Ally Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ALLY traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,988,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,489,358. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.02 and its 200-day moving average is $36.31. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.16. Ally Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.52 and a 52 week high of $43.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.80.

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.