Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $58.00 to $66.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $64.88 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.52. The company has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.29 and a fifty-two week high of $69.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third 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 approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $50,000. 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.