Barclays Upgrades Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) to “Overweight”

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $79.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $59.00. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.63.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $66.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $35.29 and a 12-month high of $69.39. The company has a market capitalization of $26.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its 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. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.