Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SYF. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $41.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.35. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $43.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 19.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 108,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after buying an additional 33,867 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,646,000 after purchasing an additional 103,222 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,336,000 after purchasing an additional 145,466 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 51.1% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 46,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 15,666 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,054,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,812,000 after purchasing an additional 50,495 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.