Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $69.86, but opened at $66.50. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $64.78, with a volume of 1,032,247 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Compass Point boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.85.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.87 and a 200 day moving average of $57.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. Equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

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 value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the 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 directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.