ARGA Investment Management LP Acquires New Shares in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management LP acquired 24,194 shares of Synchrony Financial valued at approximately $1.6 million in the second quarter, indicating increased institutional interest in the company.
• Synchrony Financial recently announced a $1 billion stock buyback program, signaling that its board believes the shares are undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $2.86 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.22, alongside a revenue of $3.82 billion.

ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 24,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,615,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.2% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 199,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,301,000 after acquiring an additional 9,805 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 10,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 11,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $73.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.53 and its 200 day moving average is $65.39. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.