Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $65.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Synchrony Financial traded as high as $57.37 and last traded at $57.03, with a volume of 711359 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $55.75.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on SYF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

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

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after purchasing an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,748,000 after acquiring an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.37.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

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.