Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on SYF. Wolfe Research raised Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $44.55.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

SYF stock opened at $44.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.35, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $46.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.13.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.8% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 285,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,958,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,192,000. Finally, Invst LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $815,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.