LMR Partners LLP Takes $520,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after acquiring an additional 10,294 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,487,000 after buying an additional 3,907 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $61.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $70.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.29.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.95.

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.