Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $79.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $59.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Compass Point raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SYF opened at $65.80 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $35.29 and a 52-week high of $69.39. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.