Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $53.29, but opened at $55.21. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $54.46, with a volume of 1,584,086 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS.

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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61.

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.