Is Synchrony Financial (SYF) a Good Pick for Value Investors?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Synchrony Financial SYF stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Synchrony Financial has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 14.73, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 21.49. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Synchrony Financial’s current PE level marks the highs for the stock over the past few years.

Further, the stock’s PE compares favorably with the Zacks Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 16.92. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Synchrony Financial’s forward PE is roughly same as its trailing twelve months value, so we might say that the forward earnings estimates are incorporated in the company’s share price as of now. We define forward PE as current price relative to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current fiscal year.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Synchrony Financial has a P/S ratio of about 1.86. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.40 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this stands below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Synchrony Financial currently has a Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Synchrony Financial a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Synchrony Financial might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of C and a Momentum Score of F. This gives SYF a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of B. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been quite discouraging. The current quarter has seen six estimates go lower in the past sixty days compared to no upward revisions, while the full year estimate has seen five downward and one upward revision in the same time period.

This has had a negative impact on the consensus estimate, as the current quarter consensus estimate has dropped by 4.4% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has inched lower by 0.8%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Given these bearish trends, the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which is why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Synchrony Financial is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Despite having a Zacks Rank #3, the stock belongs to an industry which is ranked among the Top 45% out of more than 250 Zacks industries, which indicates that broader factors are favorable for the company.

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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