Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $85.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $60.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 27.21% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SYF. Compass Point upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $66.82 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $33.58 and a 12-month high of $69.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.99. The stock has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.