Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $65.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Synchrony Financial traded as high as $57.37 and last traded at $57.03, with a volume of 711359 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.75.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SYF. Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $315,381,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,748,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.44. The stock has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.61. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

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.