Voleon Capital Management LP Takes $1.66 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,656,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.81. 594,429 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,932,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.31, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.55 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.26.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

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.