Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $72.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock.

SYF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.98.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SYF traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.64. 2,334,110 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,446,077. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $64.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.80. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $35.29 and a twelve month high of $69.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $25.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 179,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,449,000 after acquiring an additional 29,944 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 110,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,340,000 after acquiring an additional 20,552 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 85.3% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 44,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 20,293 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,810,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 55.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 8,861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.