Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Sets New 1-Year High at $45.87

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $45.87 and last traded at $45.63, with a volume of 654157 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’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 directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.7% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 67,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,053,000 after acquiring an additional 9,585 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 251,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.5% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 88,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.5% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 11,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. 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.