Ally Financial’s (ALLY) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Citigroup

Citigroup restated their buy rating on shares of Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $59.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $55.00.

ALLY has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ally Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Compass Point upgraded Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. BTIG Research cut Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ally Financial from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.60.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLY opened at $41.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Ally Financial has a 1-year low of $29.52 and a 1-year high of $45.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.80.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Ally Financial news, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.14, for a total transaction of $257,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 90,387 shares in the company, valued at $2,905,038.18. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson acquired 8,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.81 per share, with a total value of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 236,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,284,131.01. The trade was a 3.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALLY. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,534,000. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Ally Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in Ally Financial by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 48,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,569 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Ally Financial by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 79,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,337,000. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.