Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Key Points

• Barclays has raised the price target for Synchrony Financial from $83 to $86, indicating a potential upside of 19.05% from the last closing price, and maintains an "overweight" rating for the stock.
• Synchrony Financial recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.86 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, and the company announced a share buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of $1 billion in outstanding shares.
• Institutional investors hold 96.48% of Synchrony Financial's stock, indicating strong institutional interest, with major transactions reported by firms like Bank of America and Norges Bank.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $83.00 to $86.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.05% from the company's previous close.

SYF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.60.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.8%

SYF stock opened at $72.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.50. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $77.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $175,294,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 755.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925,217 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $161,528,000 after buying an additional 1,721,891 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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