Short Interest in Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) Decreases By 8.8%

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,990,000 shares, a drop of 8.8% from the July 15th total of 8,760,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALLY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ally Financial in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ally Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Ally Financial in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ally Financial from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.78.

Ally Financial Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of ALLY stock traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $42.82. 1,197,425 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,255,363. Ally Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.54 and a fifty-two week high of $45.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.11 and its 200-day moving average is $39.19.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.33. Ally Financial had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ally Financial will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ally Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 245.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 608,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,687,000 after purchasing an additional 432,350 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in Ally Financial by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,752,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,129,000 after buying an additional 495,584 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Ally Financial by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,662,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,040,000 after buying an additional 261,897 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Ally Financial by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 369,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,988,000 after buying an additional 49,539 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Ally Financial by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 880,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,933,000 after acquiring an additional 32,478 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.76% of the company’s stock.

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.