Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives $64.98 Average Price Target from Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.43.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. TD Cowen lifted 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, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,599,000 after purchasing an additional 492,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.1 %

SYF opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $35.29 and a one year high of $69.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.38.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

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.