Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $52.00 to $80.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Synchrony Financial traded as high as $71.85 and last traded at $71.71, with a volume of 710644 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.16.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $10,530,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 59,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 66,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 14,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.69.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.