Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 18,171 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 396.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.60.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $64.98 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $28.84 and a 52 week high of $67.76. The stock has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.