Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Position Increased by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 82.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,709 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 646.0% in the 4th quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 88.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cfra cut Synchrony Financial from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $28.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. JMP Securities lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $21.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.21.

Shares of SYF stock opened at $21.24 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $12.15 and a 1 year high of $38.18. The stock has a market cap of $12.46 billion, a PE ratio of 4.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.35 and its 200-day moving average is $28.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.64. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 15.58%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.51%.

In related news, Director Laurel Richie acquired 1,600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.20 per share, with a total value of $25,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,158.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Will W. Graylin sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.68, for a total value of $125,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 64,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,047.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. The company offers private label credit cards, dual cards, general purpose co-branded credit cards, and small and medium-sized business credit products; and promotional financing for consumer purchases, such as private label credit cards and installment loans.

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