Foundry Partners LLC Invests $14.50 Million in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 307,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,504,000. Foundry Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Synchrony Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,896,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE SYF traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $48.92. 402,034 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,034,441. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $52.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.