Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Free Report) by 76.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.10.
View Our Latest Report on Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial Trading Up 6.7 %
Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $47.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.23. The firm has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.60. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $47.24.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.
Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial
In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.
About Synchrony Financial
(Free Report)
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.
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