Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) PT Raised to $49.00 at Barclays

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a buy rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $50.50.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $49.97 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.47. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.30 and a 12-month high of $52.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 53.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 24,375 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 134.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.3% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,065,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,260,000 after purchasing an additional 90,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

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.