The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $64.00 to $72.50 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SYF. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $65.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $2,192,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings 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 valued at $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 35.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,300,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,082,000 after purchasing an additional 342,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,569,000 after buying an additional 42,293 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.