Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,101 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 853.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,471,000 after acquiring an additional 5,566,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $151,220,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $61,172,000. Ruffer LLP raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 223.4% in the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 2,024,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,500 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,942.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,353,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,364,000 after buying an additional 1,287,354 shares in the last quarter. 92.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.4 %
SYF opened at $34.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.38 and a 200 day moving average of $32.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $40.88. The firm has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.57.
Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 25th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 17.04%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.
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 cards, 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 to retail and commercial customers, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Synchrony Financial
- Investing in Blue-Chip Stocks
- Is AI On The Verge Of A Monster Short Squeeze Breakout?
- How to Use Stock Screeners to Find Stocks
- Chipotle Mexican Grill Serves Up Another Entry Point
- Biggest Stock Losers – Today’s Biggest Percentage Decliners
- 7 Best Hotel REITs to Buy Now
Receive News & Ratings for Synchrony Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Synchrony Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
