Ally Financial Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 4,966 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,157 put options.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

NYSE ALLY opened at $40.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Ally Financial has a fifty-two week low of $29.52 and a fifty-two week high of $44.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average of $37.09. The stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.14.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.21. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 7.64%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.92%.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALLY. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ally Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the first quarter valued at $27,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ally Financial in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ally Financial by 385.2% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Ally Financial by 662.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. BTIG Research raised Ally Financial from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.43.

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.