Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $85.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $60.00.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on SYF. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $67.14 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $33.51 and a 1-year high of $69.00. The stock has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.88.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 41.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 24.2% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 46.0% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 5,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.