Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Upgraded to “Buy” by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $46.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $42.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ALLY. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ally Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Ally Financial from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ally Financial has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.59.

Ally Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ALLY opened at $38.00 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $37.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.46. Ally Financial has a 52 week low of $22.54 and a 52 week high of $41.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. Ally Financial had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is 40.13%.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ally Financial by 115.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 88.76% of the stock is currently 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.