Czech National Bank Sells 892 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Czech National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 892 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF opened at $44.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $46.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.62 and its 200-day moving average is $40.86.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.55.

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.