Convergence Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners cut its Synchrony Financial stake by 32.9% in the first quarter, leaving it with 36,606 shares valued at about $2.49 million.
• Synchrony Financial reported Q1 EPS of $2.27, beating analyst estimates, though revenue came in below expectations and was down 7.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $87.32; meanwhile, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares in May.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,922 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 22,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,556,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $73.48 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $73.17 and its 200 day moving average is $73.30. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.60, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.Synchrony Financial's revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial NYSE: SYF is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants' checkout experiences.

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