Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Price Target Increased to $60.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SYF has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.95.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $56.70 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $57.26. The firm has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 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.