Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an outperform rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $49.97 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The company has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 53.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,290,000 after acquiring an additional 24,375 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 134.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,065,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,260,000 after purchasing an additional 90,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.