Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Declares $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

Synchrony Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Synchrony Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 17.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Synchrony Financial to earn $6.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.5%.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE SYF traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.66. 4,711,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,524,034. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.