Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stake Lessened by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 225,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,110 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in 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 worth $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after buying an additional 12,492 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $423,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SYF. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.3 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $52.39 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $39.67 and a 12-month high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.62.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued 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 research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Synchrony Financial 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.