Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Rating Increased to Overweight at Barclays

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $79.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $59.00. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 18.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.63.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $66.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $35.29 and a 12 month high of $69.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.71 and a 200-day moving average of $54.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after purchasing an additional 906,172 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,088,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,751,000 after purchasing an additional 674,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.