AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 17,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after acquiring an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after buying an additional 12,492 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $423,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE SYF opened at $54.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.20. The stock has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

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.