Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from an underweight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $82.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $40.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SYF. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $64.27 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.75. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 134.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 38,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,822,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $215,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.