Nordea Investment Management AB Purchases 335,239 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.7%, purchasing an additional 335,239 shares, bringing its total to approximately 4.2 million shares valued at $280.7 million.
• The company's board approved a $1 billion share buyback plan, allowing Synchrony Financial to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares, a move typically seen as a sign of undervaluation.
• Synchrony Financial reported a strong quarterly earnings performance with $2.86 earnings per share, surpassing estimates of $2.22, and previously set guidance indicates positive growth expectations.

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,209,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 335,239 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 1.13% of Synchrony Financial worth $280,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $11,506,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,711,000 after purchasing an additional 50,162 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $12,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $242,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $70.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.56. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

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.

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