Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 11,193 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 162% compared to the average volume of 4,279 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of SYF opened at $67.85 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.03 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.74. The firm has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently 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.