Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cfra Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $70.56 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.67. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $71.88. The company has a market capitalization of $26.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.46%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $175,294,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 340.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,573 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 755.7% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,217 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.