Power Corp of Canada Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Power Corp of Canada purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 8,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 7,753 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 69,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 101,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 962,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,493,000 after acquiring an additional 8,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 11,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total value of $401,323.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,664 shares in the company, valued at $2,597,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 39,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $1,426,084.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,531,245.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 11,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total transaction of $401,323.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,597,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Barclays downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.27.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $28.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.92. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $41.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.62.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.14. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 24.07%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 6th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.08%.

Synchrony Financial Profile

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Synchrony Financial engages in the provision of consumer financial services. The firm is also involved in managing credit products through the following sales platforms: Home and Auto, Digital, Diversified and Value, Health and Wellness, and Lifestyle. The company was founded on September 12, 2003 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.