Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on SYF. HSBC raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Get Our Latest Research Report on SYF

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $77.36 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the sale, the director owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 4,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.0% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Synchrony Financial

(Get Free Report)

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.

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