Friedenthal Financial Takes $833,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded up $1.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $64.88. 2,629,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,407,064. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $35.29 and a 12 month high of $69.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SYF. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

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.