Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New $329,000 Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd 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 3rd 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 period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $66.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $34.26 and a one year high of $69.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.10.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.68.

Insider Activity

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

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.