Kathmere Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 5,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $4,986,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 76.9% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 23,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 46,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,994,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 6.7 %

SYF stock opened at $47.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.11 and a 200 day moving average of $41.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $47.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.10.

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.