StockNews.com Downgrades Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

SYF stock opened at $39.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $26.59 and a 1-year high of $43.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.24. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 19.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 853.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,471,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,739,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $61,172,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.