Short Interest in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) Expands By 40.2%

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,510,000 shares, a growth of 40.2% from the February 28th total of 8,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ally Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Ally Financial stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.50. 6,160,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,397,104. The stock has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Ally Financial has a 12-month low of $31.95 and a 12-month high of $45.46.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.21. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 11.29%. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Ally Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ally Financial news, CEO Michael George Rhodes bought 25,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,033.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,033.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Russell E. Hutchinson purchased 19,100 shares of Ally Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 10.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALLY. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Ally Financial by 89.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ally Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ally Financial by 218.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Ally Financial by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ally Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 88.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Ally Financial from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ally Financial from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Ally Financial from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ally Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ally Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.53.

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.