Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Announces Earnings Results

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,335,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,493,081. The stock has a market cap of $17.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.70.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.78.

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.