Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Issues Earnings Results

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19), Briefing.com reports. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.14. 2,572,430 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,496,721. The firm has a market cap of $17.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.72.

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.