Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.47.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ALLY shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet upgraded Ally Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company.

Ally Financial Price Performance

NYSE:ALLY opened at $39.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.23 and its 200 day moving average is $33.79. Ally Financial has a 12 month low of $22.54 and a 12 month high of $41.56. The company has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ally Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,009,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,293,000 after acquiring an additional 290,842 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,620,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,220 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 47.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,316,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,651 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ally Financial by 34.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,122,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,309,000 after buying an additional 795,754 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in Ally Financial by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,752,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,129,000 after buying an additional 495,584 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.