Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $44.45 and last traded at $43.97, with a volume of 1534969 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.86.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SYF. Stephens boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

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

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

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after buying an additional 5,088,262 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $182,739,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.