Round Hill Asset Management Acquires 566 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Round Hill Asset Management raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial makes up 2.2% of Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,751,000 after purchasing an additional 674,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,916,000 after purchasing an additional 597,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $65.99 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $29.15 and a 52-week high of $67.76.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

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.