Morgan Stanley Raises Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $40.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W raised Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.25.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $56.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $57.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 11,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after purchasing an additional 168,920 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.