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

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.41.

Several analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Compass Point began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during 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 stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 11,846 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after purchasing an additional 168,920 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $49.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.62. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.