Synchrony Financial Shares (NYSE: SYF – Get a rating) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twenty-one analysts who cover the company, Market Beat Ratings reports. One equity research analyst rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five assigned a hold recommendation and twelve gave the company a buy recommendation. The 12-month average price target among analysts who have rated the stock over the past year is $51.00.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage of Synchrony Financial in a Thursday, March 31 report. They have placed a “holding” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded Synchrony Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced its price target for the stock from $56.00 to $40.00 in a Monday, March 28 report. Wolfe Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “peer performing” rating to an “underperforming” rating and set a price target of $22.00 for the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 12. Stephens lowered his target price on Synchrony Financial from $54.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 19. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group raised its target price on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a Tuesday, April 19 research report.

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $36.22 on Friday. The company has a debt ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.49. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two-week low of $31.36 and a fifty-two-week high of $52.49. The company has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 4.91, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF – Get a rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 18. The financial services provider reported EPS of $1.77 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.23. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 29.99% and a net margin of 26.26%. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company posted EPS of $1.73. Sell-side analysts expect Synchrony Financial to post earnings per share of 5.63 for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board of directors approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, April 18 that sees the company repurchase $2.80 billion worth of stock. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 13.6% of its shares through purchases on the open market. Share repurchase programs often indicate that the company’s board of directors believe its shares are undervalued.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 12. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 2 received a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 29. This represents a dividend of $0.88 on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.94%.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently changed their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial shares by 1,769.1% during Q1. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the financial services provider valued at $61,000 after buying 1,663 additional shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial shares by 357.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 23,543 shares of the financial services provider valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 18,394 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial shares by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 16,010 shares of the financial services provider valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stock position in Synchrony Financial during Q1 worth approximately $215,000. Lastly, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in Synchrony Financial shares by 45.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 550,851 shares of the financial services provider valued at $19,175,000 after buying an additional 171,755 shares in the last quarter. 98.26% of the shares are held by institutional investors.

About Synchrony Financial (Get a rating)

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 cards, co-branded 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 for retail and commercial customers, as well as deposits through brokerage firms in third-party securities.

Featured articles

Get news and reviews for Synchrony Financial Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of breaking news and analyst ratings for Synchrony Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s free daily email newsletter.