Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Hits New 52-Week High at $47.83

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $47.83 and last traded at $47.64, with a volume of 94054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 61.7% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,468,000 after buying an additional 43,310 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 108,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 10,751 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 127,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,000 after purchasing an additional 13,059 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $11,732,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 23,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 7,588 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.