Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Announces Earnings Results

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

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF traded up $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.65. 3,130,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,902,506. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.22 and a 12-month high of $47.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Barclays downgraded Synchrony Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $41.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.27.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $2,495,468.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 762,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,841,689. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $2,495,468.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 762,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,841,689. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Carol Juel sold 31,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $1,252,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 853.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,471,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,481 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,172,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,123,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,786,000 after purchasing an additional 484,220 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 550,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,175,000 after purchasing an additional 171,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,950,000. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.