Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Authorizes Stock Buyback Program

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of SYF opened at $44.67 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $26.59 and a 52-week high of $45.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.67 and its 200-day moving average is $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.