Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an outperform rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $46.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $49.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $49.49.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after buying an additional 5,088,262 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,739,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,032,000 after buying an additional 165,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,748,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.