Simon Quick Advisors LLC Invests $500,000 in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,358,000 after acquiring an additional 281,383 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 358,708 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,145,000 after acquiring an additional 706,212 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297,859 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SYF opened at $74.43 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $77.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.79. The stock has a market cap of $26.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.