Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.19 EPS

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $44.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.67 and its 200 day moving average is $36.86. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 over the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.