Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) Short Interest Update

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,510,000 shares, an increase of 40.2% from the February 28th total of 8,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ally Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Ally Financial stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.64. 3,943,468 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,410,857. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.40. 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 capitalization of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.40. Ally Financial has a fifty-two week low of $31.95 and a fifty-two week high of $45.46.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Ally Financial’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Ally Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ally Financial news, CEO Michael George Rhodes acquired 25,634 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.09 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson bought 19,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $753,495.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 202,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,112,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ally Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,571,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ally Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,704,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,981,000 after acquiring an additional 51,426 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ally Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ally Financial by 184.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 532,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,044,000 after acquiring an additional 345,210 shares during the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.