Hosking Partners LLP Lowers Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Hosking Partners LLP trimmed its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 794,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,575 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises 2.0% of Hosking Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $51,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $59.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.47. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.67 and a twelve month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued 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 1.69%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

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.