Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $65.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Synchrony Financial traded as high as $57.37 and last traded at $57.03, with a volume of 711359 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.75.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.60.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,381,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position 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. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,748,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.72 and a 200-day moving average of $47.37.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.