Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.53.

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of SYF opened at $68.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,088,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.