Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.48 and traded as high as $66.09. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $65.25, with a volume of 2,353,960 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $64.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. 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.