Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

SYF has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an underweight rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday. They issued an outperform rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $48.11 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.11 and a 200-day moving average of $41.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $48.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 285,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,958,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $2,192,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.