Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 49,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,228,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,378,000 after acquiring an additional 469,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.7 %

SYF stock opened at $54.46 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.22. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.67 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.70.

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.