Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Cut to “Neutral” at Compass Point

Compass Point downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $70.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $69.40 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $37.91 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during 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.