Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.90.

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 4.6 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $51.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $52.67. The company has a market cap of $20.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.86.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. This represents a 0.00 % 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 Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Boston Partners increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,751,000 after buying an additional 674,093 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently 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.