Quarry LP Increases Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $347,903,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 340.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,573 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,986,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 258.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 586,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,134,000 after acquiring an additional 422,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $52.43 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.29.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.95.

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.