Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Ally Financial had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Ally Financial Trading Up 6.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALLY opened at $38.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.82. Ally Financial has a one year low of $22.54 and a one year high of $41.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.40.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Ally Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Ally Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ally Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALLY. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 115.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 618.8% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

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.