Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives $65.33 Average Price Target from Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.78.

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.9%

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,699,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,876,115. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

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.