FCG Investment Co Has $1.97 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

FCG Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,933 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises approximately 0.9% of FCG Investment Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,494,741 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,194,000 after purchasing an additional 406,796 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% in the first quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,700,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $299,360,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,288,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,022,000 after buying an additional 120,045 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.56.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $83.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.99. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $86.22. 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 company has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

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

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.