Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $32 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 492,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,068 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $32,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 57,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 3,984 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 88.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 66,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,000 after acquiring an additional 31,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.11.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $47.86 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.41. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. 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 issued 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 expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

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.