Curtis Howse Sells 31,562 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Curtis Howse also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 15th, Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $45.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.36 and its 200 day moving average is $37.74. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $26.67 and a 1-year high of $46.72. 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 company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.49, a PEG 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 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 firm 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 firm earned $1.35 EPS. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Synchrony Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 11,846 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after purchasing an additional 168,920 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,287,000 after buying an additional 4,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth $253,000. 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.