Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 365.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 146,449 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 42,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 15,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $45.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $45.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.15 and a 200 day moving average of $37.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by 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.