Azora Capital LP Sells 2,666,516 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Azora Capital LP decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 91.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 263,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,666,516 shares during the quarter. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $13,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.43.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $67.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $31.26 and a 1-year high of $68.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

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.