Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 7,662 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 122% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,452 call options.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,437 shares of company stock worth $7,242,432 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 251,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.5% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 88,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 11,900 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 627,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,266,000 after purchasing an additional 209,929 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 44,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 123,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,775,000 after purchasing an additional 19,126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $46.10. 3,868,474 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,443,251. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.74. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $46.72.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

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.