Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Lifted to Outperform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $62.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $45.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $45.60. 3,485,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,323,139. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.58. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.28.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released 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 net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by 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.