Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Raised to “Overweight” at Barclays

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $79.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $59.00. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 18.55% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.98.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $66.64 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.15 and its 200 day moving average is $54.96. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $25.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.