Synchrony Financial Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SYF)

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 11,193 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 162% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,279 call options.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.2 %

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $67.66. 2,232,920 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,360,003. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $26.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.62. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $38.03 and a 1 year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

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.