Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 7,662 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 122% compared to the average daily volume of 3,452 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.62. The stock had a trading volume of 825,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,408,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.74. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.67 and a twelve month high of $46.72. The firm has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly 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). The company 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 172,437 shares of company stock worth $7,242,432 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 492,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,229,000 after acquiring an additional 101,501 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 651,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,079,000 after acquiring an additional 56,145 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,179,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,826,000 after acquiring an additional 73,607 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 14,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 4,336 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 245,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,575,000 after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.