Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Issues Earnings Results

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.14, RTT News reports. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 24.07%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $35.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.43. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $47.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Carol Juel sold 31,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $1,252,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Carol Juel sold 31,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $1,252,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Margaret M. Keane sold 68,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $2,495,468.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 762,786 shares in the company, valued at $27,841,689. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Toroso Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 9,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 32,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 9,481 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 37,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SYF. Barclays downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, November 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.27.

About Synchrony Financial

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Synchrony Financial engages in the provision of consumer financial services. It operates through three sales platforms: Retail Card, Payment Solutions, and CareCredit. The Retail Card platform is a provider of private label credit cards, and also provides Dual Cards and small-and medium-sized business credit products.