Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on SYF. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.68. 4,230,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,410,885. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $26.59 and a 12-month high of $43.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 853.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,471,000 after buying an additional 5,566,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,739,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,609,000 after buying an additional 1,900,216 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $61,172,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after buying an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.