Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $1.45 Million Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 22,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,446,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after buying an additional 12,492 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $423,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $53.42 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.14.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.