Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SYF. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Baird R W cut Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.47.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $80.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.29. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 370,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,719,000 after buying an additional 133,780 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,737,000 after acquiring an additional 245,527 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,236,000 after purchasing an additional 333,093 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 73.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 77,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after buying an additional 32,802 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $2,735,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Synchrony Financial

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.