Tidal Investments LLC Purchases 31,124 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 88.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,124 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.53.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.06. 2,035,754 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,199,299. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.