Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $63.59, but opened at $66.77. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $65.27, with a volume of 462,215 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.90. The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 1.53%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of 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 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.