Freedom Investment Management Inc. Trims Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,284 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $175,294,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 755.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,217 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,891 shares in the last quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $73,699,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,859 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of SYF opened at $74.82 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.86. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.50.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

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.