Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell below Synchrony Financial’s 200-day moving average of $73.54, reaching an intraday low of $69.87 before last trading at $73.21.
• Analyst views remain broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $87.78, with 10 Buy ratings and 9 Hold ratings.
• Synchrony reported quarterly EPS of $2.68, beating the $2.42 consensus, and announced a $0.34-per-share quarterly dividend.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) shares crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $73.54 and traded as low as $69.87. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $73.2070, with a volume of 5,760,926 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore lowered Synchrony Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. HSBC raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.78.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.7%

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $74.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 22.26%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 14.20%.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $2,349,452,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,122,961,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,760,000 after acquiring an additional 365,353 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,338,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,098,000 after acquiring an additional 281,451 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,338,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,112,000 after acquiring an additional 37,114 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial is a consumer financial services company that provides credit products and related services through partnerships with retailers, healthcare providers and other businesses. Its offerings include private-label and co-branded credit cards, installment loans and promotional financing options.

The company also provides consumer banking products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Its financing solutions serve customers in areas such as retail, home improvement, automotive, health and wellness, and digital commerce, primarily in the United States.

Synchrony was formerly part of General Electric's financial services business and became an independent, publicly traded company in 2014.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.