1,200 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Bought by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,105,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,943,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,348,000 after acquiring an additional 279,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $53.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.21. The stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $39.67 and a one year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

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 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.