UBS Group Upgrades Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) to Strong-Buy

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) was upgraded by UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALLY. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Ally Financial from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Friday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ally Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.43.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALLY opened at $37.63 on Monday. Ally Financial has a one year low of $35.92 and a one year high of $47.29. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.77.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.01). Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ally Financial

In other Ally Financial news, insider Stephanie Richard sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total transaction of $221,150.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 88,927 shares in the company, valued at $3,933,241.21. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ally Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,315,659,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the second quarter valued at $1,240,650,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ally Financial by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,018,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,776,000 after purchasing an additional 309,638 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 11.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,783,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,134,000 after buying an additional 712,443 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Ally Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $172,509,000. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ally Financial Company Profile

Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY) is a digital financial-services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Its principal businesses include automotive financing, consumer banking, commercial finance and other lending services, primarily serving customers and businesses in the United States.

Through Ally Auto, the company provides retail installment loans and leases for new and used vehicles, along with financing and related services for automotive dealers. Ally Bank offers online checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and other deposit products.