Analysts Set Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) PT at $83.33

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.3333.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,698,000 after acquiring an additional 191,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,517,000 after purchasing an additional 739,832 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,194,000 after buying an additional 406,796 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,700,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,236,000 after buying an additional 333,093 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $86.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $86.48. The company has a market capitalization of $30.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.