Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Holdings Boosted by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 91.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 156,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 74,637 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $3,465,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 69,554.8% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 29,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 29,213 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 159.6% in the first quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 165,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 101,690 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 136.5% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 50,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 29,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 139.0% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 35,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock traded down $3.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.99. 6,431,068 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,372,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $52.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial 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.