UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $58.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $66.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $35.29 and a twelve month high of $69.39. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $66.10 and a 200 day moving average of $55.66.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.