Ally Financial Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 13,074 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 133% compared to the average volume of 5,620 call options.

Ally Financial Price Performance

ALLY stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,837,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,130,987. Ally Financial has a 52-week low of $30.06 and a 52-week high of $45.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.44. The company has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael George Rhodes acquired 25,634 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 19,100 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,002,235.25. This represents a 10.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALLY. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 89.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 218.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Ally Financial by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ally Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ALLY. StockNews.com cut shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ally Financial from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BTIG Research cut shares of Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.82.

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.