Empowered Funds LLC Has $7.93 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,292 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

SYF stock opened at $64.98 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $28.84 and a fifty-two week high of $67.76. The stock has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.60.

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.