Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Raised to “Outperform” at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has $62.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $45.00.

SYF has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. TD Cowen boosted 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, April 25th. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SYF opened at $45.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.49. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $26.59 and a 1 year high of $45.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 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 earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $60,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.