Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Authorizes Stock Buyback Plan

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

SYF stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.66. 4,711,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,524,034. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $26.59 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.76. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 in the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.