Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Buy”

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $54.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.95% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on SYF. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Compass Point started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.57. 3,053,042 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,185,289. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The firm has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.56.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,465,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 11,846 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,134,000 after acquiring an additional 168,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 998,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,011,000 after acquiring an additional 30,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.