QRG Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 76.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 135,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 451,660 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $9,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $80.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial 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.