Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new stake in Ally Financial Inc., purchasing 56,062 shares valued at approximately $2,045,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Ally Financial reported earnings of $0.99 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.78, with a revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, with the payment scheduled for August 15th.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 56,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,045,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 1st quarter worth $1,998,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the 1st quarter worth $1,462,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 67,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,466,000 after acquiring an additional 24,372 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 40.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the period. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ALLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ally Financial from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Ally Financial from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.80.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Ally Financial stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.26. 1,988,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,489,358. Ally Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.52 and a 1 year high of $43.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.02 and a 200-day moving average of $36.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Ally Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.92%.

Ally Financial 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.