Ally Financial Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 13,074 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 133% compared to the average volume of 5,620 call options.

Ally Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALLY stock opened at $30.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.34. Ally Financial has a fifty-two week low of $30.06 and a fifty-two week high of $45.46.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.21. Ally Financial had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael George Rhodes purchased 25,634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,033.06. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson acquired 19,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $753,495.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 202,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,002,235.25. This represents a 10.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management Advisors LLC now owns 168,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ally Financial by 14.0% in the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ally Financial by 5,028.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 120,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,383,000 after buying an additional 117,826 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ally Financial by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 457,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,492,000 after buying an additional 94,752 shares during the period. 88.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Compass Point upgraded Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Ally Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.41.

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.