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

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $63.59, but opened at $66.77. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $65.27, with a volume of 462,215 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.90.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, 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 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 made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $215,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $326,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 153.2% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 6,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 3,894 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.