Stifel Financial Corp Buys 20,410 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,410 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,751,000 after buying an additional 674,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,916,000 after acquiring an additional 597,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SYF. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.53.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.18. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $35.29 and a 12 month high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.