Brokerages Set Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target at $64.98

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.43.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.80. 2,729,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,502,709. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.96.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Synchrony Financial's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,599,000 after purchasing an additional 492,312 shares during the period. 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.