Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $49.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $49.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SYF. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a buy rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $46.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF opened at $49.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.89. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $49.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 purchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 786.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.