Athena Investment Management Purchases New Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $60.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.57. The firm has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $39.67 and a 1-year 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.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.