The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $70.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $82.00 to $70.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.70.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $53.85 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.17. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.67 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.