Synchrony Financial $SYF Stock Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 71,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 150,832 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYF. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $22,798,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,122,961,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 7,984.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 23,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 22,994 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,734,000. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 243.6% during the 2nd quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 258,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,638,000 after acquiring an additional 183,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, October 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.78.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $71.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.08 and a 200-day moving average of $73.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 22.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.20%.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial is a consumer financial services company that provides credit products and related services through partnerships with retailers, healthcare providers and other businesses. Its offerings include private-label and co-branded credit cards, installment loans and promotional financing options. The company also provides consumer banking products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Its financing solutions serve customers in areas such as retail, home improvement, automotive, health and wellness, and digital commerce, primarily in the United States.