Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) shares gapped down prior to trading 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SYF. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.47.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $28.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

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

About Synchrony Financial

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.