Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,561 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $100,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $44.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.97. The stock has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.