Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,450,000 shares, a growth of 33.3% from the January 31st total of 9,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SYF. UBS Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.13. 6,001,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,799,896. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $39.67 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.91. The company has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 6.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

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.