Round Hill Asset Management Has $5.08 Million Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Round Hill Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 16.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,004 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial accounts for 3.4% of Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.6% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 130,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 8,069 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at about $1,074,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 30.2% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE SYF opened at $77.36 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $77.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.