Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 151.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $60.88 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.35.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.