AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Boosts Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,901,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 164,437 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial accounts for about 1.0% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $193,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 20,366.7% in the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $74.82 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $77.41. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.86.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

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.