Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $44.67 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.97. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $45.46. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 in the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.