Brokerages Set Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target at $64.98

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.43.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Compass Point increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $65.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.23. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $35.29 and a 12-month 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 market capitalization 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares in the last quarter. 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.