Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $38.18, but opened at $41.38. Ally Financial shares last traded at $40.10, with a volume of 1,788,158 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2,021,808.41 billion. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALLY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ally Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded Ally Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ally Financial from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ally Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Ally Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ally Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ally Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 26,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 8.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 41.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ally Financial by 153.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ally Financial Stock Up 3.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.44.

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.