Hosking Partners LLP Sells 9,153 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Hosking Partners LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 766,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,153 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises 2.0% of Hosking Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $54,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.5% in the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 370,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,719,000 after purchasing an additional 133,780 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,737,000 after buying an additional 245,527 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $2,735,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 58,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,157,000 after buying an additional 19,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at about $3,565,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.11.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $87.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.53. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $88.53.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.