Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.4737.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $78.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.72 and its 200-day moving average is $75.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $28.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.43. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after buying an additional 3,494,741 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,349,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,001,000 after buying an additional 1,416,909 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 149.4% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,844,000 after buying an additional 1,080,389 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.