LMR Partners LLP Takes $520,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 151.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SYF. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.6%

SYF stock opened at $61.02 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.55 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.76 and a 200-day moving average of $60.29.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.