Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

Several analysts have commented on SYF shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $44.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 36,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $1,263,045.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 565,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,500,780. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 15,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $525,525.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 36,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $1,263,045.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 565,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,500,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 181.2% in the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.50% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $31.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.20. The company has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.90, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.60. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $26.59 and a 1-year high of $40.88.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 12.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.52%.

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 cards, 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 to retail and commercial customers, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.