Summit Global Investments Buys Shares of 18,402 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 18,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $213,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 76.4% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 13,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 84,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $253,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 4,989 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.60.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $63.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.31. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $28.84 and a twelve month high of $67.76.

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. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th 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 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.