Versant Capital Management Inc Has $50,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 786.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,262 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $182,739,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,032,000 after purchasing an additional 165,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,748,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.52 on Tuesday, reaching $44.29. The stock had a trading volume of 4,058,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,197,332. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The company has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

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.