Voleon Capital Management LP Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 67.4% during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to $2.26 million worth of shares.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but had a 1.8% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, which equates to an annualized yield of 1.6%.

Voleon Capital Management LP lifted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,164 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.79.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.43. 1,954,364 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,629,824. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.61. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $77.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $28.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.49.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.