Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $201,000 in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Baird R W upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $51.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

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.