Ascent Group LLC Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 995.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088,262 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $182,739,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,826,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,112,000 after purchasing an additional 730,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.27 on Monday, hitting $50.51. 1,643,162 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,190,745. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.90.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.