Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $4.34 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after acquiring an additional 132,047 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,787,000 after acquiring an additional 12,492 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $53.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 6.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.09. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $39.67 and a 52-week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.