Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Wolfe Research upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $41.21, but opened at $42.56. Wolfe Research now has a $50.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $36.00. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $42.06, with a volume of 710,805 shares.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.88.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 853.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,471,000 after buying an additional 5,566,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $182,739,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,609,000 after buying an additional 1,900,216 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at $61,172,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,688,000 after buying an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.31%.

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.