Talc Moan
6 years ago
Filings for U.S. unemployment rose the most since late 2017, Jobless claims rose 37,000 to 230,000 in the week ended April 20, Thursday that matched the highest estimate in Bloomberg’s survey. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, increased to 206,000. $SYF long puts
Remember these are 2021’s I am buying. There is a long time in between now and then and the signs are slowing creeping in to a slow down and credit card defaults Q2, and Q3 will be telling if they breach 5%
TRUISM
9 years ago
Analyst Price Target Update on Synchrony Financial
Matt Young July 16, 2015
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Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF): The mean short term price target for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been established at $34.15 per share. The higher price target estimate is at $38 and the lower price target estimate is expected at $29 according to 10 Analyst. The stock price is expected to vary based on the estimate which is suggested by the standard deviation value of $2.75
Analysts at Zacks have given a short term rating of hold on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) with a rank of 3. The company has received an average rating of 1.7 from 10 brokerage firms. 6 analysts have rated the company as a strong buy. The company has been rated as hold from 3 Wall Street Analysts. 1 analysts have suggested buy for the shares.
Company has received recommendation from many analysts. In the statement by the brokerage house, Barclays upgrades its outlook on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). The current rating of the shares is Overweight, according to the research report released by the firm. Previously, the company had a rating of Equal-weight. The brokerage firm raises the price target from $30 per share to $38 per share. The rating by the firm was issued on July 9, 2015.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) witnessed a decline in the market cap on Thursday as its shares dropped 0.03% or 0.01 points. After the session commenced at $34.26, the stock reached the higher end at $34.46 while it hit a low of $34.07. With the volume soaring to 636,575 shares, the last trade was called at $34.13. The company has a 52-week high of $34.365. The company has a market cap of $28,456 million and there are 833,765,000 shares in outstanding. The 52-week low of the share price is $22.6.
Blessings to All
TRUTH
TRUISM
10 years ago
GE Spin-Off Synchrony Financial Builds Tech To Support Growth Plans
By KIM S. NASH 5:17 pm ET May 14, 2015
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Creating a technology group from scratch isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Carol Juel, CIO of Synchrony Financial, has hired hundreds of IT staff to build technology infrastructure to prepare the $12.2 billion credit-card issuer to separate for good from parent General Electric Co.GE -0.51%
GE spun out Synchrony last July, as part of a plan to divest its financial services businesses and focus on industrial manufacturing. Synchrony is expected to separate fully from GE this year, after the Federal Reserve assesses whether the company can stand alone, without GE’s operational support.
To get there, Ms. Juel has had to hire 250 to 300 IT staff, to supplement the 295 who came from GE. The team is building networking, security and analytics infrastructure to accommodate growth expected in part from mobile and online initiatives. GE has provided temporary IT services for the last 10 months, under a contract due to expire in July 2016. Synchrony would like to end the contract sooner, by February 2016, and is working to get all systems in place by then. “This is a large logistics exercise,” said Ms. Juel, a 10-year GE veteran and CIO of the GE unit that became Synchrony since 2011.
Synchrony’s IT group has bought or built new treasury, tax, human resources and other systems once shared at GE, for example, as well as outfitted two data centers in a co-location arrangement with a vendor in the Western U.S. This work goes on as Synchrony continues to provide credit-card processing to customers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.WMT +0.66%, J.C. Penney Co.JCP +6.47% and Gap Inc., and gradually transfer them to Synchrony’s own systems.
“There are a lot of nights and weekends,” Ms. Juel said. Transfers are usually done during times of low sales volume — Saturday night, into Sunday mornings or after 1:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, she said. Four of Synchrony’s 19 biggest retail customers have been converted since February.
Simplicity is one of the biggest opportunities in starting a brand new IT operation, said Bobby Cameron, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc.FORR -0.15% Legacy systems built up over time can be “a boat anchor,” Mr. Cameron said, requiring special staff to support them and inhibiting the integration of emerging technology.
Establishing a close relationship between IT and non-IT counterparts may be easier at a startup, Mr. Cameron said. “Because of a clean slate, they have options established companies don’t have,” he said.
Part of the pitch Ms. Juel makes to job candidates is playing up the unusual situation at Synchrony: a startup creating its own business processes, but already with more than $12 billion in revenues. “We’re birthing what will be a Fortune 500 company,” she said.
Ms. Juel has brought in more modern technology than the company used as a business unit of GE. The cloud figures prominently, she said. For example, Synchrony uses HR systems from Workday Inc.WDAY -0.85% Synchrony is a simpler company than GE, focused on one business, she said. “Starting fresh, we wanted to do minimum customization because our employee base is not that complex.”
Blessings to All
TRUTH
TRUISM
10 years ago
Synchrony Financial Receives Average Rating Of “Buy” From Brokerages (NYSE:SYF)
by Doug Madison/April 17th, 2015
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Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, AmericanBankingNews.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.92.
Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) traded down 0.94% on Friday, hitting $30.48. The stock had a trading volume of 341,672 shares. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $22.60 and a one year high of $33.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31. and a 200-day moving average of $29.. The company has a market cap of $25.41 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post $2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Analysts at BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th.
Finally, analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is a consumer financial services companies in the United States. The Company provides a range of credit products through programs it has established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial And Pep Boys Extend Consumer Financing Program
Published: Apr 15, 2015 8:45 a.m. ET
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Pep Boys CarCareONESM Card Available Through more than 800 Locations Nationwide
STAMFORD, Conn. & PHILADELPHIA, Apr 15, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), a premier consumer financial services company with 80 years of retail heritage, today announced a multi-year extension of its agreement with The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE:PBY) to provide a private label credit program for customers of one of the nation’s leading automotive aftermarket chains.
Synchrony Financial has provided credit products for customers of Pep Boys with convenient payment options and benefits for their full-service vehicle maintenance and repair purchases since 1998.
The Pep Boys CarCareONESM credit card is a convenient way to pay for unexpected auto repairs and routine maintenance. Cardholders can qualify* for special financing offers, and also pay for repairs while traveling, since the card is valid at all Pep Boy stores, as well as 18,000 participating CarCareONESM locations throughout the United States. The card also provides a convenient way to pay for gas at all U.S. Exxon and Mobil gas stations.
“The availability of financing is important to consumers in the automotive sector,” said Glenn Marino, executive vice president and CEO of Payment Solutions, Synchrony Financial. “With a Pep Boys CarCareONESM credit card, consumers are able to get the service they need now, whether it’s an unexpected repair or routine maintenance. The card also delivers added value by providing a convenient way to pay for gas and for use at thousands of CareCareONESM dealers nationwide.”
Synchrony Financial’s third-party research confirms the importance of the availability of finance to consumers in the auto parts and service sector. Our third annual Major Purchase Consumer Study* showed that 76 percent of automotive shoppers always seek promotional financing, and 77 percent of all Synchrony Financial cardholders surveyed said that the availability of financing is “very important” when choosing a retailer.
“We’re pleased to continue our relationship with Synchrony Financial to provide our customers with convenient options for repairing and maintaining their vehicles,” said Bernie McElroy, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for Pep Boys. “Their insights and expertise on the customer shopping experience, combined with our product selection and know-how, are helping to keep cars on the road longer.”
About Pep Boys
Since 1921, Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY) has been the nation’s leading automotive aftermarket chain. With over 7,500 service bays in over 800 locations in 35 states and Puerto Rico, Pep Boys offers name-brand tires; automotive maintenance and repair; parts and expert advice for the Do-It-Yourselfer; commercial auto parts delivery; and fleet maintenance and repair. Customers can find the nearest location by calling 1-800-PEP-BOYS (1-800-737-2697) or by visiting www.pepboys.com.
About Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), formerly GE Capital Retail Finance, is one of the premier consumer financial services companies in the United States. Our roots in consumer finance trace back to 1932, and today we are the largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States based on purchase volume and receivables. We provide a range of credit products through programs we have established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers to help generate growth for our partners and offer financial flexibility to our customers.
Through our partners’ more than 300,000 locations across the United States and Canada, and their websites and mobile applications, we offer our customers a variety of credit products to finance the purchase of goods and services. Our offerings include private label and co-branded Dual Card credit cards, promotional financing and installment lending, loyalty programs and Optimizer+plus branded FDIC-insured savings products through Synchrony Bank. More information can be found at www.synchronyfinancial.com and twitter.com/SYFNews.
*subject to terms and conditions
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TRUISM
10 years ago
GE To Sell Bulk Of Finance Unit, Return Up To $90 Billion To investors
BY NICK CAREY AND LEWIS KRAUSKOPF/Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:10pm EDT
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Reuters) - General Electric Co will shed most of its finance unit and return as much as $90 billion to shareholders as it becomes a “simpler” industrial business instead of an unwieldy hybrid of banking and manufacturing.
The company on Friday outlined a restructuring plan that includes buying back up to $50 billion of its shares, selling about $30 billion in real estate assets over the next two years and divesting more GE Capital operations. GE stock jumped 8.5 percent.
"The stock has been under-owned by institutional investors, and that's going to change now," said Tom Donino, co-head of equity trading at First New York Securities.
The repurchase program, which will be partly funded by $35 billion through money returned from GE Capital, is the second-biggest in history after Apple Inc's $90 billion plan. GE, which had 10.06 billion shares outstanding on Jan. 31, said it expected to reduce that by as much as 20 percent to 8 billion to 8.5 billion by 2018.
In all, GE said it planned to shed $275 billion in GE Capital assets. That includes the previously announced spinoff of its Synchrony Financial credit card unit, the real estate transaction announced on Friday, and future sales of commercial lending and consumer banking businesses with assets of about $165 billion.
The company plans to keep $90 billion in finance assets directly related to selling its products such as jet engines, medical equipment and power generation and electrical grid gear.
GE has forecast earnings of $1.70 to $1.80 per share for this year, including 60 cents from GE Capital, but expects profit to be “substantially higher” in 2018, executives said on a conference call with analysts. Shrinking GE Capital will reduce earnings by 25 cents per share, they said, but the stock buybacks should offset that impact.
The company already had a significant number of inquiries about GE Capital units before Friday’s announcement, said Keith Sherin, the finance unit's chief.
Blackstone Group LP and Wells Fargo & Co confirmed that they were buying most of the assets of GE Capital Real Estate for about $23 billion.
This is the biggest deal in the commercial property market since Blackstone's acquisition of office landlord Equity Office Properties Trust in 2007 for $39 billion, including debt.
FOCUS ON INDUSTRIAL
The moves announced on Friday will dramatically reduce GE’s exposure to lending and other financial businesses.
GE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt told investors the company would try to generate 90 percent of its profits from industrial operations by 2018. He had previously forecast that share would grow to 75 percent by 2016 from 55 percent in 2013.
“We just think the market timing is very good vis-a-vis the value of financial service assets,” Immelt said in an interview. “There have been moments in the past when there weren’t a lot of buyers. Now there are.”
Immelt and other GE executives said they planned to spend $3 billion to $5 billion a year on industrial acquisitions.
GE said it could return up to $90 billion to investors through a combination of dividends, the $50 billion in share buybacks, and completion of the Synchrony spinoff planned for late this year.
Executives gave several reasons for GE's accelerated retreat from financial businesses. One is that since the financial crisis, it has become more difficult for GE to fund its lending operations.
GE funded many of its loans and leases by borrowing money from bond markets. During the financial crisis it lost access to that funding, bringing it uncomfortably close to running out of cash.
Lenders like GE Capital and CIT Group Inc, which cannot rely on bank deposits to fund their assets, have had to rethink the way they do business since the crisis. Many decided to either shed assets or become banks.
GE Capital’s size and the potential risks in its lending portfolio made it subject to government regulation as a systemically important financial institution. GE said it would apply to escape that oversight in 2016 as it reduces the financial business' size.
GE said it would take after-tax charges of about $16 billion for the restructuring in the first quarter, of which about $12 billion would be non-cash.
Shares of GE were sluggish for the past year despite previous moves to reposition itself around the industrial businesses. Still, Friday’s more dramatic move away from finance caught some analysts by surprise.
"What we did not expect was the speed with which management would move to undertake this transformation," Sanford Bernstein analyst Steven Winoker wrote. "We view today's announcement as an overwhelming positive for the company."
During the conference call, Barclays analyst Scott Davis told executives that while he had been a critic, “this is good stuff ... I guess you can keep your jobs a little longer."
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Centerview Partners provided general financial advice to GE, while Bank of America Corp and Kimberlite Advisors advised on the real estate deal. Eastdil Secured and Wells Fargo Securities were advisers to Blackstone and Wells Fargo.
(Additional reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial (SYF) is Trading Higher on Unusual Volume for April 10
By Equities Staff/ April 10, 2015 5:32PM
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ynchrony Financial ($SYF) experienced unusually high volume on Apr. 10, as the stock gained 1.49% to a closing price of $30.59. The stock saw 1.29 million shares trade hands over the course of the day on 5,512 trades. Given that the stock’s average daily volume over the last month has been 805,267 shares a day, this represents a pretty substantial spike over the norm.
Synchrony Financial has a P/B ratio of 2.43. It also has a P/E ratio of 10.8. The stock has traded between $33.96 and $22.60 over the last 52-weeks, its 50-day SMA is now $31.62, and its 200-day SMA $28.22.
Synchrony Financial provides credit products through programs established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers.
Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Synchrony Financial has 11,000 employees and is currently under the leadership of CEO Thomas M. Quindlen / Glenn P. Marino / David Fasoli.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial Reaches New 12-Month High at $32.00 (SYF)
February 5th, 2015
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Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday , Stock Ratings News reports. The company traded as high as $32.00 and last traded at $31.92, with a volume of 367,543 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.25.
A number of research firms have recently commented on SYF. Analysts at Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set a “positive” rating and a $31.32 price target on the stock. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $30.00 to $33.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, analysts at Barclays raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.25.
The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.98 and a 200-day moving average of $27.02. The company has a market cap of $26.682 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post $2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is a consumer financial services companies in the United States. The Company provides a range of credit products through programs it has established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers.
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10 years ago
Evercore ISI Issues Buy Rating to Synchrony Financial
Joe Willams January 8, 2015
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Evercore ISI initiates coverage on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). Investors must note that the brokerage house has a Buy rating on the shares of the company. The Brokerage Firm announces its price target at $35 per share on the company.
In a different news, Equity Analysts at the BTIG Research downgrades the rating on Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). The brokerage firm has issued a Neutral rating on the shares. The shares were previously rated Buy.
Finally, Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) climbed 0.35 points to end the trading session 1.21% higher. As the market opened, the first trade was executed at $29.52. Even as the stock skid to $28.91, the bullish mood lifted the stock price which closed at $29.2. $29.68 was the highest the mood could push the price to. The volume reading came in at 1,365,129 shares. The previous close of the counter was $28.85. The market cap of the company was $30.64 and the market cap of the stock is $24,346 million. The 52-week low of the shares is $22.6. There are 833,765,000 outstanding shares.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial’s Stock Could Soar After GE’s Exit, Analyst Says
Nov 25, 2014 6:35 pm ET By MAUREEN FARRELL
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Goh Seng Chong
Synchrony Financial investors shouldn’t fear the company’s freedom from General Electric Co.
Synchrony, the private-label credit-card issuer that went public in July, is poised to see its stock move significantly higher after rising 25% since the company went public at $23 per share in July. Investors shouldn’t worry about any adverse effects when GE, which still owns roughly 82% of the company, sells the remainder of its stake, Bernstein Research analyst Kevin St. Pierre wrote in a report.
“While the stock could face pressure in the period before and after the exchange, we believe the long-term effect will be negligible on [Synchrony's] valuation,” Mr. St. Pierre wrote. GE has said it expects to exit its entire position in 2015.
After a split from GE, Synchrony could consider returning capital to shareholders. The company, Mr. St. Pierre wrote, needs to formally separate from GE before doing that. Synchrony is well-capitalized and should be able to get clearance from regulators for a capital return program, he said.
In a statement, Synchrony Financial wrote: “We are not seeking to return capital prior to separation. Post separation, we would look to return capital, subject to regulatory and other considerations.”
Bernstein has a $35 price target on Synchrony Financial–21% above where the company’s stock currently trades.
Mr. St. Pierre said larger trends should benefit Synchrony, notably the overall growth in private-label cards. “We expect more significant purchases will be placed on the card than at any point over the last three decades,” he wrote in the report.
General Electric raised $2.88 billion when Synchrony went public. Since then, GE’s stock is up more than 6%.
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10 years ago
Business roundup: Synchrony the new name for GE Capital
Edd Pritchard
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 1:30 pm
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During the summer General Electric introduced Synchrony Financial, the renamed GE Capital Retail Finance business.
The change explains the new Synchrony sign along Munson Street NW in Canton outside the building that houses local GE Capital operations.
GE launched an initial public offering for Synchrony Financial in July and plans to spin off the operation.
The deal will make Synchrony Financial one of the nation’s largest consumer financial services companies, providing credit cards and services to national and regional retailers, merchants, manufacturers and more. The company traces its roots to 1932 and has maintained a presence in Stark County since the mid 1960s.
Locally the company has 950 employees who work in customer and account support, collections and fraud.
Kathy Stanton, Canton site leader, said the operation will continue to focus on customer service, engaging employees and “strong Canton community support and involvement.”
In late September, Snychrony launched a national media and branding campaign under the tagline “engage with us.” The campaign will be seen in national newspapers, on television during cable news and sports programs, and in other media.
GETTING AROUND
Andy Mattes, Diebold’s president and chief executive officer, showed up in some interesting places during the closing days of September.
He made an appearance Sept. 19 with Jim Cramer on Mad Money, the CNBC program that looks at stocks and investing.
Mattes had the chance to tell Cramer’s audience about Diebold’s efforts to improve security with automatic teller machines. That included a description of Diebold’s new product that allows customers to make ATM transactions by using their smartphone.
Cramer asked about the “crawl, walk, run” approach Mattes has taken with the effort to redirect Diebold. While Mattes said the company remains in the “crawl” stage, he noted: “We’re eyeing walk.” The six minute appearance can be found on youtube.com by searching for “Andy Mattes.”
Diebold’s top executive spoke for a few minutes on Sept. 30 at Oracle’s OpenWorld 2014 event in a presentation with Dr. Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer and managing director at Infosys.
Diebold and Infosys are working together on software development. Mattes said software will be the change agent as Diebold strives to run its service as a business instead of as a delivery channel.
During September Diebold announced a bank branch transformation project with Kinderhook Bank in Albany, New York; a software deal with Belgian Post; and expanded capabilities for SecureStat, the company’s security management portal.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial Launches New Brand and Advertising Campaign: Engage with Us
Published: Sept 22, 2014 8:56 a.m. ET
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HEADLINE2Former GE Capital Retail Finance business is 80 years new
STAMFORD, Conn., Sep 22, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) today announced the launch of a national media and branding campaign that includes print, broadcast and digital media and out-of-home advertising. Synchrony Financial’s new name and logo were introduced in coordination with its initial public offering in July 2014 as part of a planned separation from GE.
Margaret Keane, president and CEO of Synchrony Financial, said, “After conducting extensive research with key stakeholders, we are proud to launch a Synchrony Financial brand campaign that truly represents who we are as a company and the value proposition we offer to our stakeholders. We help our partners engage, grow and drive deeper loyalty with their customers through leveraging data and analytics, along with programs that drive results.”
Toni White, chief marketing officer, added, “While our name is new, our company has an 80-year history of financial stability, experience and operational excellence. We have not strayed from our core foundation, which is based on the deep partnerships we establish with our clients.”
Synchrony Financial’s tagline—Engage with us—confirms the company’s view that every interaction with its partners and customers represents an opportunity for Synchrony Financial to engage with partners and help grow their business.
The logo features gold pillars that create a stylized “S” representing the company’s alignment with its business partners, customers and employees, all working in sync with each other. The corporate color palette of grays and gold delivers a balance of strength, stability, warmth and openness. Together, the brand attributes create a memorable identity that’s unique to the financial services world today.
Synchrony Financial partnered with Interbrand on the development of its new branding and Ogilvy & Mather is the agency of record for its corporate advertising campaign.
“We chose to symbolize our commitment to our partners by featuring two hands in synchrony with one another. Working in harmony, our campaign represents how Synchrony Financial works with its partners at the deepest levels, understanding that our industry is about people first. It is how we work to engage people, understand people, and build loyalty with people with every engagement,” stated White.
“Synchrony Financial provided us with unique and interesting challenge that few agencies get presented with-- a clean canvass to support a new name and branding by creating advertising for this company that represents its rich heritage and deep domain expertise that is innovating for the future,” stated Chris Wall, vice chairman, North America at Ogilvy & Mather.
The brand will be launched through advertising across multiple channels to reach key industries where Synchrony Financial has a deep presence:
* Print ads in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and trade publications
* TV on network and cable news and sports programming
* Airport advertising
* Digital ads across multiple properties
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages (NYSE:SYF)
September 13th, 2014 -- by Hanz Christensen
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Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, StockRatingsNetwork reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.91.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) traded down 0.61% on Tuesday, hitting $24.50. 1,106,815 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $22.60 and a 1-year high of $26.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.30 and its 200-day moving average is $24.30. The company has a market cap of $20.427 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44.
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Citigroup Inc. initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is a consumer financial services companies in the United States.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial: Largest Pure-Play Private Label Credit Card Issuer
Sep. 10, 2014 2:59 AM ET |
Click For seekingalpha.com Link
Summary
* SYF is the largest pure-play private label credit card issuer in the U.S.
* It is well positioned to benefit in the near-term from the continued expansion of consumer credit.
* In the medium-term there is upside from rising capital return post the separation from GE.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), the consumer credit card business of GE Capital, is the largest provider of private label cards in the U.S. in terms of both purchase volume and finance receivables ($56 billion of receivables). The company operates through three sale platforms: Retail Cards, Payment Solutions, and CareCredit. Retail card business, which provides private label and dual card through national and regional partners, is the largest contributor of revenue. It accounted for about 80% of 2013 total purchase volume. Payment Solutions provides promotional financing for major consumer purchases such as electronics, appliances etc. while CareCredit provides promotional financing for elective healthcare procedures.
Being the largest pure-play private label card issuer in the U.S, Synchrony Financial is well positioned to benefit from the continued expansion of consumer credit. While there are opportunities in the near term as the U.S. consumer continues to improve, driving strong loan growth and credit card spend. In the medium term, there will be upside from rising capital return post the separation from General Electric (NYSE:GE). SYF plans to spin out from GE in late 2015 and become a fully independent entity subject to 2Q16 CCAR.
Largest Pure-Play Private Label Credit Cards Provider
SYF is the leading provider of private label credit cards [PLCC]. It is the largest private label card issuer based on purchase volumes and receivables. The company's origins date all the way back to 1932 when GE launched its consumer finance business to help finance GE appliances. Private label credit cards align the interest of the merchant, borrower, and issuer. Since the private label business requires specialized management expertise around retail marketing and promotion, it isn't so easily replicated by card issuers focused on the general purpose card business. The return on private label can be quite attractive and SYF benefits from its positioning as the biggest player with partnerships with many of the largest retailers.
Synchrony has partnerships with some of the largest retailer including Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), and Gap (NYSE:GPS). Many of these partnerships are long-standing relationships and have been in place for decades. This large portfolio of national and regional retailers allows SYF to be diversified across industries and geographies. For example, the company's credit products are offered across 329,000 retail locations across the country. Moreover, 32 of the company's top 40 programs are locked up until 2016 and beyond. This represents about 70% of the company's total platform revenues.
SYF's direct partnership with merchants allows it to lower its cost of acquisition as a large proportion of customers are acquired at the point of sale. The company also has less marketing expenses than standard credit card operators as part of the marketing costs are borne by merchants.
New Partners and Increase Penetration of Existing Partners
One of SYF's largest opportunities is the potential organic growth with existing partners. The aggregate sales of all the retail card partners is more than $550 billion compared to just $75.7 billion purchase volume in retail cards. While the company has higher penetration in small to medium retailers, there is significant room to increase penetration at the mass merchants, where penetration is typically low. For example, with some small to medium sized retailers penetration is as high as 40% but less than 5% at some of the bigger retailers. SYF has huge opportunity to drive organic growth via increased penetration of existing partners. Synchrony has more than 1000 employees dedicated to individual retailers to drive strategy and execution.
The company is also seeking to attract new partner relationships. While SYF's partnership already includes many of the largest retailers, it is more likely that the company will add smaller partner relationships rather than large ones. While the company's long history and leadership position in PLCC should help SYF win new partners, the company at the same time also continues to invest in online and mobile technologies to attract new partners. For instance, the company intends to roll out the capability for consumers to apply for credit as well as deliver targeted rewards and promotions via mobile devices. Synchrony also plans to utilize its data and analytics from its large customer base with the goal to improve the effectiveness of marketing strategies with their partners.
Should Benefit from Increasing Retail Spend
Improving income, employment, and consumer confidence are driving higher retail sales, which is a positive for SYF revenues. Retail sales, measured by the 3-month moving average, accelerated from 2.5% y/y increase in 1Q14 to 4.5% y/y increase in 2Q14. Moreover, spending at SYF's key partners including WMT, JCP, LOW, and GPS is expected to continue to grow. Given that Synchrony is able to offer its cardholders significant spending incentives through higher and more customized discounts, spending volumes on Synchrony's PLCC typically grow faster than total retail spend at their partners.
Capital Returns Following Full Separation
SYF's IPO earlier this year was the first step in separating the business from General Electric. The IPO resulted in GE owning 85% of the outstanding shares currently. The second step of the separation will involve GE exiting its ownership through a split-off, which may be affected through a tax-free distribution of GE's remaining ownership to electing GE's stockholders.
Full separation will be subject to various regulatory approvals and the process involves the Federal Reserve Board's determination that SYF is prepared to operate as a stand-alone entity. On that front, the company will be taking a number of steps to prepare itself as a stand-alone company. These steps include reducing or even eliminating the funding provided by GE Capital, diversifying funding sources, and increasing capital and liquidity levels.
These actions are already resulting in strong capital ratios. Moreover, the company also does not plan on returning any capital in the near-term until the full separation from GE. SYF has a strong Basel III CT1 ratio of 14%, which is in-line with 15.1% Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), and higher than 8.4% and 13.4% of Capital One (NYSE:COF) and American Express (NYSE:AXP) respectively. With strong capital generation combined with no expected dividend until 2Q16 and no share repurchase until 2017, Synchrony should continue to improve its capital ratios.
I expect SYF to have a conservative capital position to reduce risk of delay in separation. This will leave SYF with significant excess capital post its separation from GE and positions the company well to start to return capital in its first start-alone stress test in 2016. I believe SYF will look to return capital in the middle of 2016 and gradually increase payouts as the company gets more comfortable with the stress test process.
Conclusion
Synchrony Financial is the largest pure-play private label credit card issuer in the U.S. The company is well positioned to benefit from the continued expansion of consumer credit during what will be a prolonged period of benign credit after the 2008 financial crisis. SYF's private label card business is embedded at the retailer level and should continue to benefit from higher consumer spending as the economy continues to expand, consumer confidence increases, and the unemployment rate declines. While the rising payrolls, stronger consumer confidence, and improving net worth should drive strong loan growth and credit spend in the near-term, in the medium term there is upside from rising capital return post the separation from GE.
Note: All the figures in the article are taken from SYF's SEC filings which can be found here.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial’s Quiet Period Set To Expire on September 9th (NYSE:SYF)
September 6th, 2014 -- by Matt Cooper
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Synchrony Financial’s (NYSE:SYF) quiet period is set to expire on Tuesday, September 9th. Synchrony Financial had issued 125,000,000 shares in its initial public offering on July 31st, AmericanBankingNews.com reports. The total size of the offering was $2,875,000,000 based on an initial share price of $23.00. During Synchrony Financial’s quiet period, underwriters and any insiders involved in the IPO are prevented from issuing any research reports or earnings estimates for the company because of regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following the expiration of the company’s quiet period, it’s expected that the brokerages that served as underwriters on the stock will initiate research coverage on the company.
Separately, analysts at BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock.
Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) traded up 0.27% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.77. 1,090,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $22.60 and a 52 week high of $26.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.21 and its 200-day moving average is $24.21. The company has a market cap of $21.396 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is a consumer financial services companies in the United States.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial: Underwriter 'Buys' Coming Next Week
By Anthony Ruben, Inflection Point Consulting Sep. 5, 2014 6:00 AM ET
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Summary
As the 40-day quiet period following Synchrony Financial's July 31 IPO ends next week, expect "Buys" from several "bulge bracket" firms.
Synchrony has already increased 12% over its $23 IPO price, but could have multiple price targets of $30 or more.
Reaffirm "Buy" based on valuation and likely post-research report "pop".
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), a General Electric (NYSE:GE) split-off, had its IPO on July 31. After treading water near the IPO price of $23.00/share for several days, likely with the support of underwriters, the stock appreciated 8.7% between August 19 and 20, and now sits at $25.79, 12.1% over the IPO price.
Source: Yahoo Finance
To-date, only one report and two estimates have been published. The report, from a non-underwriting firm (BTIG), is a "Buy" with a target price of $30/share.
Lead underwriters must observe, under an SEC rule, a 40-day quite period following an IPO (25 days for non-leads). As thirty-one firms, including bulge bracket investment banks such as Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), were involved (and compensated) in SYF's IPO, I would expect at least five to seven detailed reports next week. In an early sign of investment banker optimism (and arbitrage on the post-IPO price appreciation), it was reported (as expected) that the overallotment option was exercised (the underwriters purchased, at the IPO price, 3.5 million shares).
Unless the stock runs up significantly prior to the reports, expect "Buys" or "Outperforms" all the way around.
Source: TDAmeritrade
If the current 2015 consensus estimate of $2.74 holds, I would expect target prices in the $31-$33 range. My original estimate was in the $29-$31 range, based on an extrapolation of trailing numbers (see my article, "Synchrony Financial: Why I Bought This GE Spin-Off").
GE has maintained it will continue to hold the 80%+ position it retains until the latter part of 2015. Current plans are for SYF shares to be swapped for GE shares (from existing shareholders) or sold on the open market. Either way, GE benefits from an appreciating SYF.
I continue to be long SYF; however, I will re-consider my holdings following the release of the reports next week.
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10 years ago
TIA Sets ACA Webinar
by Tire Review Staff - Sep 3, 2014
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TIA and Synchrony Financial will present a free webinar to help tire dealers understand how to navigate provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
The webinar will be held on Thursday, Sept. 11, beginning at 2 p.m. EDT.
Jeff Englander, senior vice president and senior research analyst for GE Capital, will lead the webinar “The Affordable Care Act: What You Need to Know.” During the session he will discuss: Deadlines and requirements applying to employers in the ACA; how changes will impact requirements on employers; administrative and legal requirements of the ACA taking effect in 2015; understanding healthcare exchanges; strategic considerations around planning, administration and coverage; and more.
This webinar is free and open to all TIA members and prospective members. To reserve a spot, email your name, company name and title to: dsage@tireindustry.org.
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10 years ago
Fitch: Flat Economy to Curtail Spending, Bodes Well for U.S. Credit Card ABS
Published: Sept 2, 2014 1:46 p.m. ET
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NEW YORK, Sep 02, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Despite flat economic indicators of late, U.S. prime credit card chargeoffs again fell to unprecedented levels and 60+ day delinquencies remain near historic lows, according to the latest index results from Fitch Ratings.
Weak gains in personal income may be driving lower consumer spending, which in turn may be driving the positive readings for most credit card ABS collateral metrics. The Commerce Department reported that July personal spending declined by a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.1% from the prior month. This represents the first decline since January 2014. The Commerce Department also reported that personal income rose 0.2% in July.
While an increase, July's income reading represents the lowest month-over-month rate this year. Declines in personal consumption and increases in wages, although weak, have led to an increase in personal savings which was reported as the highest observed since December 2012. Lower spending, average gains in wages and increased savings bode well for consumers since they are theoretically in a better position to manage their debt burdens or deal with unexpected expenses. Personal bankruptcy filings, another driver of credit card chargeoffs, remain 12% lower year-over-year (YOY).
Fitch's Prime Credit Card Chargeoff Index declined 9.79% month-over-month (MOM) to 2.58%. This represents the third consecutive month of lower prime chargeoffs and the fourth new record low this year. Fitch's chargeoff index is now 23.44% lower YOY and stands 78% lower than its recession high of 11.52% in September 2009.
After five consecutive months of record setting performance, Fitch's Prime Credit Card 60+ Day Delinquency Index increased to 1.06%, one basis point (bp) higher than the previous low. Fitch's delinquency index is now down 18.46% YOY and 77% below the high of 4.54% that was reached in January 2010.
Fitch's Prime Credit Card Monthly Payment Rate (MPR) Index advanced to a 23-year high of 28.28% in August, increasing 4.43% MOM and now 9% higher YOY. During the same period, Fitch's Prime Credit Card Gross Yield Index fell 28 bps to 18.48%, a decline of 1.49% MOM.
While gross yield decreased, Fitch's Prime Credit Card Three-month Average Excess Spread Index increased 1.67% MOM to an all-time high of 13.42% in August. Prime three-month average excess spread is now nearly 9% higher YOY.
Fitch's Prime Credit Card Index was established in 1991 and tracks over $132 billion of prime credit card ABS backed by approximately $245 billion of principal receivables. The index is primarily comprised of general-purpose portfolios originated by institutions such as Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, Capital One, Discover, etc.
Fitch's Retail Credit Card Chargeoff Index rose 2% this month to 6.08%. However, despite the increase chargeoffs remain only 12 bps off the 2014 low of 5.96% which was recorded in July. Although this index is now flat YOY, it has declined nearly 55% from its all-time high of 13.41% in March 2010.
Fitch's Retail Credit Card 60+ Day Delinquency index declined 2.63% in August to a new low of 2.22%. This follows a two bp increase in July, when it had advanced from June's record low of 2.26%. The retail 60+ day delinquency index is now 4.3% lower on the year.
The retail MPR index climbed 2.65% to 15.90% in August and remains consistent with the average retail MPR levels observed over the past two years. Fitch's Retail Credit Card Gross Yield Index increased nearly 1% MOM to 27.66% and Fitch's retail three-month average excess spread index rose 2.88% to 16.81%. Fitch's indexes for gross yield and three-month average excess spread remain higher YOY by 2.5% and 4.4%, respectively.
Fitch's Retail Credit Card Index tracks more than $20 billion of retail or private label credit card ABS backed by over $31.5 billion of principal receivables. The index is primarily comprised of private label portfolios originated and serviced by Citibank (South Dakota) N.A., Synchrony Financial (Formerly GE Capital Retail Bank), and Comenity Bank (Formerly World Financial Network National Bank). More than 165 retailers are incorporated including Walmart, Sears, Home Depot, Federated, Lowes, J.C. Penney, Limited Brands, Best Buy, Lane Bryant and Dillard's, among others.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial Announces Exercise of Underwriters’ Option to Purchase 3,493,756 Additional Shares
Published: Aug 29, 2014 4:44 p.m. ET
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STAMFORD, Conn., Aug 29, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (“Synchrony”) announced that the underwriters for its initial public offering of common stock have partially exercised their option to purchase additional shares and purchased an additional 3,493,756 shares.
The additional shares will be sold at the public offering price of $23.00, before underwriting discounts and commissions. The sale of the option shares is expected to close on September 3 and, after giving effect that sale, the total number of shares sold by Synchrony in the initial public offering will be 128,493,756 shares, the total net proceeds from the initial public offering received by Synchrony will be approximately $2.8 billion and General Electric Company will own approximately 84.6% of Synchrony’s common stock.
A registration statement relating to this offering was filed with, and declared effective by, the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 30, 2014. The offering was made solely by means of a prospectus. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Copies of the final prospectuses may be obtained from:
Goldman, Sachs & Co., 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, facsimile: 212-902-9316, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by calling 866-471-2526 or emailing prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com;
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by calling 866-803-9204;
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by calling 800-831-9146; or
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department.
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10 years ago
Synchrony Financial and Lowe’s Renew Credit Card Programs
By BUSINESSWIRE - BZX
Published: Aug 25, 2014 9:27 a.m. ET
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HEADLINE2Multi-year agreement extends 35-year relationship
STAMFORD, Conn., Aug 25, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), a leader in consumer financial services with 80 years of retail heritage, has signed a multi-year agreement with Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) to continue providing financing programs for commercial and consumer customers through the home improvement retailer’s more than 1,800 stores and Lowes.com.
The Lowe’s Credit Card was introduced in 1979 and expanded to include commercial financing in 1993. Additional programs for accounts receivable and major purchases, including up to 84-month fixed monthly payments at 5.99% APR,** provide financing solutions for businesses and consumers in the U.S. and Canada.
Lowe's consumer credit cardholders receive a 5% discount on their purchases every day. For purchases of $299 and above, customers have their choice of deferred financing options or the 5% discount. Commercial customers receive 5% off on purchases every day.
“It’s been a privilege to work with the Lowe’s team over more than three decades to develop relevant payment options and features that enable consumer and commercial customers to make the home improvements they need and want,” said Tom Quindlen, EVP and CEO of Synchrony Financial’s Retail Card platform. “We look forward to continuing to provide solutions that help contribute to a great experience for Lowe’s customers.”
About Lowe’s
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE® 100 home improvement company serving approximately 15 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2013 sales of $53.4 billion, Lowe’s has more than 1,830 home improvement and hardware stores and 260,000 employees. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s supports the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
About Synchrony Financial
Formerly GE Capital Retail Finance, Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is one of the premier consumer financial services companies in the United States. Our roots in consumer finance trace back to 1932, and today we are the largest provider of private label credit cards in the United States based on purchase volume and receivables. We provide a range of credit products through programs we have established with a diverse group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers to help generate growth for our partners and offer financial flexibility to our customers. Through our partners’ more than 300,000 locations across the United States and Canada, and their websites and mobile applications, we offer our customers a variety of credit products to finance the purchase of goods and services. Our offerings include private label credit cards, promotional financing and installment lending, loyalty programs and Optimizer+plus branded FDIC-insured savings products through Synchrony Bank. More information can be found at www.synchronyfinancial.com and twitter.com/SYFNews.
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