Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $44.67 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $26.59 and a one year high of $45.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,448,000 after buying an additional 5,088,262 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $182,739,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.