Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $79.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $59.00.

SYF has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.63.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $67.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.80. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $35.29 and a 52-week high of $69.39. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % 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.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,917,000 after purchasing an additional 36,865 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $544,000. 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.