Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases New Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 37,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 853.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,471,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,481 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $151,220,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 151.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,764,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872,160 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth $61,172,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 178.5% in the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 2,646,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,979 shares in the last quarter. 94.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $29.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $26.59 and a 52-week high of $37.99.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.05. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 31st. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 6th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.76.

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 cards, 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 to retail and commercial customers, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.