LSV Asset Management Buys 17,300 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,910,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,300 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.46% of Synchrony Financial worth $72,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.60. 3,485,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,323,139. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.39. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.91. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.74.

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.