Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Synchrony Financial reached a new 52-week high at $76.15, with a recent trading price of $75.85 and a volume of over 2.9 million shares.
• Analysts have set various price targets for Synchrony Financial, with Barclays lowering their target to $80.00, while Royal Bank of Canada increased theirs to $78.00, maintaining a "sector perform" rating.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate, although revenue was down 1.8% year-over-year at $3.65 billion.

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $76.15 and last traded at $75.85, with a volume of 2967161 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.48.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,450 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,563,358,000 after buying an additional 281,383 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $907,356,000 after buying an additional 3,494,741 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,653,000 after buying an additional 358,708 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,145,000 after purchasing an additional 706,212 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,194,000 after purchasing an additional 406,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

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.