Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.55.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 285,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,958,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 13.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $2,192,000. Finally, Invst LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $815,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $44.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.10. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $46.72.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.