Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Cut to Sell at BTIG Research

BTIG Research lowered shares of Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $30.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ALLY. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Ally Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.53.

Ally Financial Price Performance

ALLY stock opened at $37.34 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.34. Ally Financial has a 12 month low of $31.95 and a 12 month high of $45.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.40.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is 46.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ally Financial news, CEO Michael George Rhodes purchased 25,634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 25,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson acquired 19,100 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $753,495.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 202,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,002,235.25. This trade represents a 10.39 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Ally Financial by 127.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 59,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,126,000 after buying an additional 33,420 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 32,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ally Financial by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 5,387 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Ally Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 22.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 242,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,634,000 after buying an additional 44,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

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.