Barclays Increases Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $46.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $37.00 to $46.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SYF. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.41.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE SYF opened at $49.05 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $49.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners raised its position in 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 5,088,262 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $182,739,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,032,000 after purchasing an additional 165,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.