Bank of America Increases Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $44.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 0.48% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.78.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $44.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,289,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,491,475. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The company has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.70.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $6,106,106. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 worth $241,448,000 after buying an additional 5,088,262 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $182,739,000. Boston Partners raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after buying an additional 1,552,946 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after buying an additional 755,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.