Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Cut to “Neutral” at Compass Point

Compass Point downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $70.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $69.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $37.91 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,714,000 after buying an additional 37,484 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,852,000 after buying an additional 158,960 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.