Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) saw unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 22,317 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 395% from the typical daily volume of 4,511 put options.
Wall Street analysts predict growth
Several equity research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. JMP Securities lowered its price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “market outperformance” rating for the company in a Friday, July 15 research note. Credit Suisse Group raised its price target on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a Tuesday, July 19 research report. Barclays lowered its price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a Monday July 11 research report. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $46.00 in a Monday July 11 research report. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” to a “buy” rating in a Monday, September 26 research report. One investment analyst has assigned the stock a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned the company’s stock a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.93.
Synchrony financial price performance
NYSE: SYF was down $0.28 during Thursday trading hours, hitting $31.47. The company had a trading volume of 72,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,100,528. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.67 and a two-hundred-day moving average of 33.58 $. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.22 and a 1-year high of $52.49. The company has a market capitalization of $15.16 billion, a PE ratio of 4.64, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt ratio of 0.96.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly results on Monday, July 18. The financial services provider reported earnings per share of $1.60 for the quarter, beating analyst consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 27.06% and a net margin of 22.76%. The company posted revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, versus $2.74 billion expected by analysts. In the same period a year earlier, the company posted earnings per share of $2.12. Analysts expect Synchrony Financial to post earnings per share of 5.79 for the current year.
Synchrony Financial increases its dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 11. Shareholders of record on Monday August 1 received a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.92 and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 29. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.43%.
Synchrony Financial Institutional Trading
Several large investors have recently changed their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 50.1% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the financial services provider valued at $35,000 after acquiring 335 additional shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 392.0% in the second quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the financial services provider valued at $29,000 after acquiring 835 additional shares in the last quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors hold 94.12% of the company’s shares.
About Synchrony Financial
(Get a rating)
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 cards, co-branded 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 for retail and commercial customers, as well as deposits through brokerage firms in third-party securities.
Further reading
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