Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

SYF has been the topic of several other reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 6.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $47.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $47.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.27. The company has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.60.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often 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 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.