Harvest Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 265 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial accounts for about 1.4% of Harvest Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $67.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $34.42 and a fifty-two week high of $69.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $59.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.37.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.