Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Invests $1.37 Million in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 21,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 37,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,852,000 after purchasing an additional 158,960 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

SYF opened at $65.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.26 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.79 and its 200 day moving average is $58.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

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.