Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Purchases 21,000 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 100.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $175,294,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 755.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925,217 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,891 shares during the last quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $73,699,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SYF. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. HSBC upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $73.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.12. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.41.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.