Stifel Financial Corp Buys 20,410 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 109,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,410 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $951,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 134.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,917,000 after purchasing an additional 36,865 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.06 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.18. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $35.29 and a 12 month high of $69.39. The company has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.53.

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.