Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Reduces Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 418,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,252 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $20,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.52 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $31.26 and a 12 month high of $68.69. The company has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

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

About Synchrony Financial

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.