Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $1.51 Million in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,511,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,088,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 589.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,133,000 after acquiring an additional 550,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in 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 valued at $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,063,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,666,167. The company has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.26 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $66.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.