Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 8,728 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,370 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.76.

Ally Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ALLY traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $37.30. 556,678 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,511,576. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.45. Ally Financial has a 52 week low of $31.95 and a 52 week high of $45.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ally Financial news, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson bought 19,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael George Rhodes bought 25,634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 8.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 752.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 50,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,040,000 after buying an additional 44,749 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 41.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 14.0% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 49,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,765,000 after buying an additional 6,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 58.7% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after buying an additional 18,671 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.