The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $72.50 to $82.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.43.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.23. The company has a market cap of $24.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, 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 value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 63,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,139,000 after buying an additional 14,255 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. 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.