Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 12.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,310 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,872 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,751,000 after buying an additional 674,093 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $50.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.34. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.30 and a 12-month high of $52.67. The firm has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays raised 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

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.