Traders Buy High Volume of Ally Financial Call Options (NYSE:ALLY)

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 8,589 call options on the company. This is an increase of 48% compared to the average volume of 5,815 call options.

Ally Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Ally Financial stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, hitting $39.25. 1,213,409 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,941,035. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.53. Ally Financial has a 1 year low of $22.54 and a 1 year high of $41.56.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Ally Financial had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 10.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ally Financial will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ally Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Ally Financial’s payout ratio is 48.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALLY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Ally Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ally Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its position in shares of Ally Financial by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 17,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 14,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 7,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Ally Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 33,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 88.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.