Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 374 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised 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 worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised 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 worth $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,714,000 after buying an additional 37,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,852,000 after buying an additional 158,960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.9 %

NYSE SYF opened at $61.35 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.17. The company has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

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.