Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $46.30 and last traded at $46.0560, with a volume of 106885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ally Financial from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. TD Cowen raised Ally Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Truist Financial set a $51.00 target price on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.47.

Ally Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.94.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter. Ally Financial had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Ally Financial Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Ally Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 15.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kathleen L. Patterson sold 29,000 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total transaction of $1,184,940.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 100,203 shares in the company, valued at $4,094,294.58. The trade was a 22.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ally Financial by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,938,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,996,000 after buying an additional 1,958,201 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,626,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,569,000 after acquiring an additional 226,188 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 10.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,658,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $169,909,000 after acquiring an additional 456,698 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in shares of Ally Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 4,258,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,317,000 after purchasing an additional 32,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,771,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

About Ally Financial

Ally Financial Inc is a leading digital financial services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers a comprehensive suite of banking, lending, and insurance products designed for retail and commercial customers. Through its online-only platform, Ally Bank provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and home mortgages, emphasizing competitive rates and user-friendly mobile and web experiences.

In addition to its banking operations, Ally Financial is a major player in automotive financing and leasing.