Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $95.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 16.57% from the company’s previous close.

SYF has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.00.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.07. The stock had a trading volume of 493,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,738,430. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $86.48. The firm has a market cap of $30.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.43 and its 200-day moving average is $73.74.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 370,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,719,000 after purchasing an additional 133,780 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,737,000 after buying an additional 245,527 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,735,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 138.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 110,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,839,000 after buying an additional 64,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $3,565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

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.