Robert W. Baird Begins Coverage on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $56.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SYF. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an underperform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $48.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. 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 twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $48.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.30.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,262 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $182,739,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,946 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 33.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,871,000 after acquiring an additional 720,587 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.