Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 84.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,100 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial accounts for about 1.4% of Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 786.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,662,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,096,469. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The company has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.