Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Evercore ISI currently has $53.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $48.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded Ally Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.88.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of Ally Financial stock opened at $45.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.17. Ally Financial has a twelve month low of $29.52 and a twelve month high of $47.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.82.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter. Ally Financial had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 9.96%. Analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 15.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 shares were sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total transaction of $1,184,940.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 100,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,094,294.58. The trade was a 22.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALLY. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ally Financial by 19.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,938,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $467,996,000 after buying an additional 1,958,201 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Ally Financial by 4.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 38.9% in 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. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 3,500,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,360,000 after purchasing an additional 249,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $95,897,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Company Profile

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.