First National Bank of Omaha Raises Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

First National Bank of Omaha boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 35.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,012 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Graypoint LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $67.92 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.37. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $34.42 and a fifty-two week high of $69.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial 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.