Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) issued its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.14, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.04 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 24.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF traded up $0.65 on Wednesday, reaching $36.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,160,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,827,244. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.43. The company has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.22 and a 12-month high of $47.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Margaret M. Keane sold 68,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $2,495,468.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 762,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,841,689. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Margaret M. Keane sold 68,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $2,495,468.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 762,786 shares in the company, valued at $27,841,689. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carol Juel sold 31,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $1,252,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 37,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut Synchrony Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $41.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.27.

About Synchrony Financial

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Synchrony Financial engages in the provision of consumer financial services. It operates through three sales platforms: Retail Card, Payment Solutions, and CareCredit. The Retail Card platform is a provider of private label credit cards, and also provides Dual Cards and small-and medium-sized business credit products.