Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given New $72.50 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $64.00 to $72.50 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on SYF. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $63.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.36. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $985,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $544,000. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 215,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.