Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.55.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

SYF opened at $44.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.86. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $46.72.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after buying an additional 5,088,262 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,040,000 after buying an additional 178,344 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $182,739,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,336,000 after buying an additional 145,466 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.