Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.09 and last traded at $44.4810, with a volume of 9207162 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ally Financial from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ally Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.67.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. Ally Financial had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Ally Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 15.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen L. Patterson sold 29,000 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total transaction of $1,184,940.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 100,203 shares in the company, valued at $4,094,294.58. The trade was a 22.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial in the second quarter worth $95,897,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ally Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,384,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,895,000 after buying an additional 72,444 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ally Financial by 19.8% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 535.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 933,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,372,000 after acquiring an additional 786,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $490,000. Institutional investors 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.