Avestar Capital LLC Purchases New Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,088,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 589.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,133,000 after purchasing an additional 550,750 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $65.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.26 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SYF. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

About Synchrony Financial

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.