Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $70.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Synchrony Financial traded as high as $71.85 and last traded at $71.71, with a volume of 710644 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.16.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on SYF. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

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.