JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $46.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $44.67 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $45.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.97. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,262 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $182,739,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.