Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price upped by Barclays from $86.00 to $101.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SYF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.11.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.0%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $88.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $31.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.44. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $88.53.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. United Community Bank lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 4,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 54.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.