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

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $86.89, but opened at $79.26. Synchrony Financial shares last traded at $80.4980, with a volume of 2,074,908 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Baird R W downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.47.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.