Ally Financial Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 26,892 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 466% compared to the average daily volume of 4,748 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ALLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ally Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $55.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ally Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ally Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephanie Richard sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total value of $221,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 88,927 shares in the company, valued at $3,933,241.21. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ally Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,315,659,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Ally Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $1,240,650,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $172,509,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $157,610,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,379,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

Ally Financial Trading Up 1.3%

ALLY traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 202,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,473,117. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.11. Ally Financial has a twelve month low of $35.92 and a twelve month high of $47.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.01). Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Ally Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

Ally Financial Company Profile

Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY) is a digital financial-services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Its principal businesses include automotive financing, consumer banking, commercial finance and other lending services, primarily serving customers and businesses in the United States.

Through Ally Auto, the company provides retail installment loans and leases for new and used vehicles, along with financing and related services for automotive dealers. Ally Bank offers online checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and other deposit products.