Caxton Associates LLP Grows Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Caxton Associates LLP grew its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 72,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,038 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during 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. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SYF. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W cut Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.00.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.9%

SYF stock opened at $84.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.38. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $86.22. The company has a market cap of $30.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.