Great West Life Assurance Co. Can Purchases 316,613 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,183,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 316,613 shares during the quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $40,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 853.5% during 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 buying an additional 5,566,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $151,220,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 151.8% in the first 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $61,172,000. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 178.5% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 2,646,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,979 shares during the period. 94.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.76.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $29.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.68. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $26.59 and a 1 year high of $37.99.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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 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.