Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target Raised to $66.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $58.00 to $66.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SYF. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.66. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $35.29 and a 1 year high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Synchrony Financial

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.