Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 34,716 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,013% compared to the average daily volume of 3,120 call options.

Insider Activity at Ally Financial

In other news, insider Stephanie N. Richard sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total transaction of $221,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 88,927 shares in the company, valued at $3,933,241.21. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALLY. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Ally Financial by 106.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 251,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,158,000 after buying an additional 129,497 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Ally Financial by 22.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Ally Financial by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Ally Financial during the 1st quarter worth $259,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 374.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ally Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:ALLY traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.19. 519,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,511,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Ally Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.92 and a fifty-two week high of $47.29.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is presently 28.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Ally Financial from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ally Financial from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ally Financial from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ally Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.64.

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.