Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price Down 3.5%

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) dropped 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $47.88 and last traded at $47.97. Approximately 1,526,489 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 4,046,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.36 and a 200 day moving average of $45.42.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,946 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.