Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Purchases 1,265,000 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises about 5.4% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 1.18% of Synchrony Financial worth $229,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SYF. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

SYF opened at $67.52 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $31.26 and a fifty-two week high of $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.47.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.