Denali Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,186 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $49.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.17. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.30 and a 12-month high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

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.