Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $63.59, but opened at $66.77. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $65.27, with a volume of 462,215 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 99,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % 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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.