Independence Bank of Kentucky Grows Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1,304.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $544,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,327,000 after purchasing an additional 10,294 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $985,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $37.91 and a 12-month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

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.