Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $63.59, but opened at $66.77. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $65.27, with a volume of 462,215 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.67. The stock has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,872 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $41,088,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.