Principal Securities Inc. Increases Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $61.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. 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 has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

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.