StockNews.com Downgrades Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.10.

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Synchrony Financial Stock Down 3.4 %

SYF stock traded down $1.86 during trading on Monday, reaching $52.30. 878,257 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,159,340. The company has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.39. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,787,000 after purchasing an additional 12,492 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $423,000. 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.