Wells Fargo & Company Increases Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $60.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on SYF. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.25.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $56.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $57.26.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently 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.