Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by PL Capital Advisors LLC

PL Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises 2.3% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,187,000 after acquiring an additional 755,856 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 33.0% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,871,000 after buying an additional 720,587 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 99.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,306,000 after buying an additional 478,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $11,732,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

SYF opened at $44.67 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $45.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 in the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.