Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Sets New 52-Week High at $44.45

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.45 and last traded at $43.97, with a volume of 1534969 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.7 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.64. The stock has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after buying an additional 5,088,262 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after acquiring an additional 755,856 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,040,000 after purchasing an additional 178,344 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,739,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,826,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,112,000 after purchasing an additional 730,318 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.