Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 62.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,042 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,903,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,986,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 231.3% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 559,510 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,368,000 after purchasing an additional 390,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $358,105,000 after buying an additional 380,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

SYF traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $51.42. 5,001,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,952,245. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.35. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.95.

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.