Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Cuts Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,252 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.11% of Synchrony Financial worth $20,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $67.52 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.55. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $31.26 and a twelve month high of $68.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.