Synchrony Financial (SYF): 61 More Smart Money Shareholders? What is Going On?

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What have hedge funds been doing with Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)?

Heading into 2016, a total of 82 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a 290% boost from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or had already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holds the number one position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). Adage Capital Management has a $658.1 million position in the stock, comprising 1.7% of its 13F portfolio. On Adage Capital Management’s heels is First Eagle Investment Management, holding a $320.7 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other professional money managers that hold long positions comprise Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, George Soros’s Soros Fund Management, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Adage Capital Management initiated the most outsized position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). George Soros’ Soros Fund Management also initiated a $216.8 million position during the quarter. Some of the other funds with brand new SYF positions include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, James Dinan’s York Capital Management, and Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin’s Senator Investment Group.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) but similarly valued. These stocks are CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX), Aon PLC (NYSE:AON), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC), and AvalonBay Communities Inc (NYSE:AVB). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to SYF’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
CSX 45 1047256 -2
AON 28 3223252 -6
NSC 32 513161 -1
AVB 20 734120 -4

As you can see these stocks had an average of 31 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.38 billion. That figure was $4.31 billion in SYF’s case. CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand AvalonBay Communities Inc (NYSE:AVB) is the least popular one with only 20 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are extremely fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers and that sentiment has improved dramatically, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

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