Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Posts Earnings Results

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19), Briefing.com reports. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $44.67 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $26.59 and a 12-month high of $45.46. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. TD Cowen increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.