Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has acquired 214,910 shares of Synchrony Financial, valued at approximately $11.38 million, indicating a newly established position in the financial services provider.
• Synchrony Financial reported earnings of $2.50 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.72, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.8% to $3.65 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30, reflecting a 1.6% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 14.56%.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 214,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,377,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at about $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,545,000 after buying an additional 5,765 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $75.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,264,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,013,082. The company has a market capitalization of $28.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.48. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $70.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.78.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.56%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, 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 directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,450. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities lifted 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 note on Thursday, July 17th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

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.