Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Cross Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s share price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.48 and traded as high as $66.09. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $65.25, with a volume of 2,353,960 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Barclays increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.49. The company has a market capitalization of $26.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third 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 lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $147,599,000 after acquiring an additional 492,312 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.