Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Invests $352,000 in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000. Synchrony Financial accounts for 0.2% of Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,105,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,714,000 after purchasing an additional 37,484 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

SYF opened at $60.51 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.38.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SYF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

About Synchrony Financial

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.