Robert W. Baird Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Robert W. Baird in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $82.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SYF. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.41.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $80.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $80.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.55 and a 200-day moving average of $70.27.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 50.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,669,000. Center For Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 118.5% in the third quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 24,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 13,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.