Kerusso Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Kerusso Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 37.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 29,754 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial comprises 2.2% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 54.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $77.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.14. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.