Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

SYF has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $40.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.27. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $43.83.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 over the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 138.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 230.5% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 76.2% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.