Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Reaches New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $56.90 and last traded at $56.29, with a volume of 184049 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.52.

The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Baird R W raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,748,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,599,000 after purchasing an additional 492,312 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61.

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.