Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target Raised to $40.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.25.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SYF opened at $56.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.68. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $57.26. The company has a market capitalization of $22.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 674,366 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 11,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after purchasing an additional 168,920 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.