Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Takes $201,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 11,846 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after buying an additional 168,920 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $51.04 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $52.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.35 and its 200 day moving average is $45.24. The company has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.