GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,236,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYF. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 355.9% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 693 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 503.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% 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.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock traded down $2.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.43. The company had a trading volume of 5,021,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,300,371. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $65.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.20. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $73.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

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.