Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in 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 worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,378,000 after purchasing an additional 469,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $52.39 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $39.67 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.41. The company has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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, topping 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, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point cut shares of 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.

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.