Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Morgan Stanley reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $44.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $82.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.26.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $44.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a PE ratio of 5.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.66. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP increased 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 last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 109,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 20,410 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 59,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,979,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth $237,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.