Argent Trust Co Increases Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $452,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after acquiring an additional 12,492 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,121,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $46.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 5.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.67 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.11.

Synchrony Financial 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.