Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Sees Large Volume Increase on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 1,406,955 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the previous session’s volume of 3,935,096 shares.The stock last traded at $39.03 and had previously closed at $38.71.

The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. Ally Financial had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is 40.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet raised shares of Ally Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ally Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ally Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 11,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $227,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 74,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,009,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,048,000. Institutional investors own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.92. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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.