Yousif Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,687 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $444,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 80,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,992 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth about $244,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 20,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.28. The company had a trading volume of 3,430,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,664,221. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $70.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.