Synchrony Financial Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SYF)

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 39,401 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,067% compared to the average daily volume of 3,377 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.2 %

SYF stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.82. 3,219,049 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,924,050. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.59. 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 has a 1 year low of $28.84 and a 1 year high of $57.37.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.