WINTON GROUP Ltd Purchases Shares of 39,991 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 39,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,599,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 639,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,681,000 after buying an additional 68,438 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 561,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,510,000 after acquiring an additional 52,200 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $754,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Potentia Wealth acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $839,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. StockNews.com downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $54.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.39. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The stock has a market cap of $21.07 billion, a PE ratio of 6.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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.