Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ALLY. Compass Point raised their price target on Ally Financial from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James downgraded Ally Financial from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ally Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ally Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Ally Financial from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $38.47.

Ally Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Ally Financial stock opened at $39.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.92. Ally Financial has a 12 month low of $22.54 and a 12 month high of $41.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 12.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ally Financial will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kinneret Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 11,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Ally Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its stake in Ally Financial by 1.7% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 17,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 14,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 4.8% during the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 7,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.