Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.60.

Several brokerages have recently commented on SYF. Bank of America upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 35.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,300,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,082,000 after purchasing an additional 342,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,569,000 after purchasing an additional 42,293 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $64.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $29.15 and a 12-month high of $67.76. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.