Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – received rating) up 24.5% in the first quarter, according to the most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,745 shares of the financial services provider after selling 4,143 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were valued at $444,000 at the end of the last reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 68.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,134,059 shares of the financial services firm valued at $77,684,000 after purchasing an additional 868,254 shares last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new interest in Synchrony Financial stock valued at approximately $302,000 during the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 29.1% in the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 64,285 shares of the financial services provider, valued at $2,238,000, after purchasing an additional 14,497 shares last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings of Synchrony Financial stock by 26.1% in the first quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,450 shares of the financial services firm, valued at $50,000, after buying another 300 shares last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 32.1% during the first quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,909 shares of the financial services provider, valued at $554,000, after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares last quarter. 98.26% of the shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock up 3.6%

shares of SYF opened Thursday at $34.00. The company has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a P/E of 4.96, a price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.72 and its 200-day moving average is $36.46. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.22 and a 52-week high of $52.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt to equity ratio of 0.96.

synchronization finances (NYSE:SYF – received rating) last announced its quarterly results on Monday, July 18. The financial services firm reported earnings per share of $1.60 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 22.76% and a return on equity of 27.06%. In the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 per share. Analysts are forecasting that Synchrony Financial will report earnings per share of 5.64 for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that on Monday, April 18, its Board of Directors approved a share repurchase plan that will allow the company to repurchase $2.80 billion of outstanding shares. This buyback authorization enables the financial services provider to buy back up to 13.6% of its shares through purchases on the free stock exchange. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial raises dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 1 will receive a dividend of $0.23. That equates to a dividend of $0.92 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday July 29th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.43%.

Changes in analyst ratings

Several research companies have recently published reports on SYF. TheStreet downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report Tuesday, July 19. Morgan Stanley lowered its target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report Tuesday, July 12. Goldman Sachs Group increased its target price on shares of Synchrony Financial to $45.00 from $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 19. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered its price target on the stock to $32.00 from $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, July . Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report dated Monday, July 25. One research analyst has assigned a sell rating to the stock, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.76.

Synchrony Financial company profile

(received rating)

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It offers lending products such as credit cards, commercial lending products and consumer installment loans. The Company also offers private label credit cards, dual card, co-branded 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 for both retail and commercial customers, and accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.

See also

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