Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $82.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $40.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 28.95% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 5.4 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $63.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.67. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.5% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,078,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,910,000 after acquiring an additional 203,663 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 88.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 66,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 31,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $217,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.