Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $79.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $59.00.

SYF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.43.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

SYF opened at $65.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.