RWC Asset Management LLP Grows Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after purchasing an additional 12,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth about $544,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $61.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.27. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.35 and a twelve month high of $70.93. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.30.

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.