Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Stock

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $45.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ALLY. Raymond James raised Ally Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Ally Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.47.

Ally Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

ALLY stock opened at $40.12 on Thursday. Ally Financial has a 1-year low of $31.95 and a 1-year high of $45.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.44.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2,021,808.41 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 8.39%. Ally Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in Ally Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 26,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Ally Financial by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 41.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 153.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

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.