Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $82.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.94% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.85.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded down $4.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,297,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,913,909. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $37.91 and a one year high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $41,088,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 589.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,133,000 after acquiring an additional 550,750 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. 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.