Centaurus Financial Inc. Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE SYF opened at $67.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $29.15 and a 12 month high of $67.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.08.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYF. Bank of America upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

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.