Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Down 7.1%

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) shares traded down 7.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $44.47 and last traded at $44.73. 950,365 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 4,024,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W raised Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.95. The stock has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $4,877,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 21.4% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.7% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 20,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 9,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.