Senator Investment Group LP Purchases New Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Senator Investment Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 380,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,700,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $347,903,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,986,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 258.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 586,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,134,000 after buying an additional 422,800 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 231.3% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 559,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,368,000 after buying an additional 390,602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.11.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $47.86 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.25 and its 200 day moving average is $60.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year 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, 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, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given 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 dividend yield of 2.09%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 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.