Oak Thistle LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 62.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $951,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,917,000 after purchasing an additional 36,865 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $544,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.77 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.74.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

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.