Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ALLY. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ally Financial from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ally Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ally Financial from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ally Financial from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Ally Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ally Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

Ally Financial Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:ALLY opened at $36.68 on Tuesday. Ally Financial has a 1 year low of $35.92 and a 1 year high of $47.29. The company has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.06 and its 200 day moving average is $42.71.

Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.01). Ally Financial had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ally Financial will post 5.00 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ally Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALLY. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ally Financial in the second quarter worth about $17,613,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,195,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Ally Financial by 183.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 274,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,625,000 after purchasing an additional 177,832 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ally Financial by 7.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,889,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,360,000 after purchasing an additional 190,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ally Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,886,000. 88.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.