JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target to $46.00

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $44.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $26.59 and a 1 year high of $45.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.97.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 in the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 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.