Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given “Market Outperform” Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities restated their market outperform rating on shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYFFree Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $60.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $52.40.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SYF

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

SYF opened at $53.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.28. The company has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $53.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYFGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 11,846 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,134,000 after buying an additional 168,920 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Synchrony Financial

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

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