Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 473,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,079,000 after acquiring an additional 241,601 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Xponance Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 82,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,152,000 after buying an additional 15,394 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of SYF opened at $43.96 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $45.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

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 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.