Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.43.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $985,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $544,000. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 215,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $65.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.15 and a 1-year high of $67.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.81 and a 200-day moving average of $49.75.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.05%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.