Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 3,824 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,824 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after purchasing an additional 12,492 shares during the period. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $544,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 4.4 %

NYSE SYF opened at $57.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $39.67 and a one year high of $70.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.85.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

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.