Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.41.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 11,846 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after buying an additional 168,920 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE SYF opened at $49.65 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $52.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.17 and a 200-day moving average of $45.59. The firm has a market cap of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.62.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

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.