Synchrony Financial (SYF) Competitors

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, community ranking, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment and risk.

Do analysts rate BMO or SYF?

Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus price target of $129.50, indicating a potential upside of 19.74%. Synchrony Financial has a consensus price target of $64.17, indicating a potential upside of 3.00%. Given Bank of Montreal's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Bank of Montreal is more favorable than Synchrony Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Montreal	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.11
Synchrony Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, BMO or SYF?

Bank of Montreal has higher revenue and earnings than Synchrony Financial. Synchrony Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Montreal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Montreal	$34.37B	2.27	$5.38B	$7.71	14.03
Synchrony Financial	$16.11B	1.47	$3.50B	$7.29	8.55

Does the media prefer BMO or SYF?

In the previous week, Synchrony Financial had 6 more articles in the media than Bank of Montreal. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Synchrony Financial and 14 mentions for Bank of Montreal. Synchrony Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Bank of Montreal's score of 0.48 indicating that Synchrony Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Bank of Montreal	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Synchrony Financial	9 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in BMO or SYF?

Synchrony Financial received 311 more outperform votes than Bank of Montreal when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.25% of users gave Synchrony Financial an outperform vote while only 56.28% of users gave Bank of Montreal an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Bank of Montreal	Outperform Votes 551 56.28%	Underperform Votes 428 43.72%
Synchrony Financial	Outperform Votes 862 70.25%	Underperform Votes 365 29.75%

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BMO or SYF?

45.8% of Bank of Montreal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank of Montreal shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BMO or SYF a better dividend stock?

Bank of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Synchrony Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Bank of Montreal pays out 61.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Synchrony Financial pays out 16.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Bank of Montreal has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Synchrony Financial has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Which has more volatility & risk, BMO or SYF?

Bank of Montreal has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synchrony Financial has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BMO or SYF more profitable?

Synchrony Financial has a net margin of 15.36% compared to Bank of Montreal's net margin of 9.22%. Synchrony Financial's return on equity of 18.30% beat Bank of Montreal's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Montreal	9.22%	10.18%	0.54%
Synchrony Financial	15.36%	18.30%	2.23%

Summary

Synchrony Financial beats Bank of Montreal on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.