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

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price raised by analysts at Bank of America from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.48% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.78.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of SYF traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $44.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,289,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,491,475. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.70. The firm has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. 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 12-month low of $26.59 and a 12-month high of $45.33.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.