Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its price target boosted by Bank of America from $82.00 to $85.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SYF. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.50.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 4.6 %

SYF stock opened at $66.68 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $37.91 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’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 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 8,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 30,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 354,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,069,000 after purchasing an additional 195,982 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.