Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.74.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,437 shares of company stock worth $7,242,432. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $35,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 145,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,433,000 after buying an additional 12,100 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 16.7% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 67,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,053,000 after buying an additional 9,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 251,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,692,000 after buying an additional 2,487 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $46.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.67 and a 52 week high of $46.72.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.