TD Cowen Increases Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $51.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price objective hoisted by TD Cowen from $49.00 to $51.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

SYF stock opened at $44.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.76. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.33.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 108,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 58.1% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,646,000 after buying an additional 103,222 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,336,000 after buying an additional 145,466 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 51.1% during the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 46,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after buying an additional 15,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,054,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,812,000 after buying an additional 50,495 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.