Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) beat both the top and bottom line estimates in its financial results for the second quarter, announced this morning. The $27.57 billion financial company reported EPS of $0.65, which was $0.03 higher than expected, and revenues of $2.91 billion, which came in $140 million higher than anticipated. While loan receivables grew by 12% on a year-over-year basis to $7 billion, purchase volume also posted an 11% rise and deposits grew by a hefty 24% from the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) also announced the addition of three new partners, namely Mattress Firm, Newegg, and Stash Hotel Rewards. The company will also be the first issuer to offer private label credit cards in Apple Pay. Moreover Barclays recently upgraded the company to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equal Weight’ and hiked its price target to $38 from $30.
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Hedge funds had mixed sentiment towards Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the first quarter. While the total number of those invested in the company increased to 17 at the end of March from 14 at the end of the previous quarter, the invested amount decreased to $190.29 million from $247.34 million during the same period. John Smith Clark‘s Southpoint Capital Advisors was the largest stockholder among these, with 2.64 million shares valued at $80.07 million.
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Another financial company, Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) reported EPS of $0.73, which fell $0.02 short of the expected mark, but revenues of $682 million beat estimates by $8.75 million. Average loans increased by 5% or $2.1 billion on a year-over-year basis on the heels of a $690 million increase in Mortgage Banker Finance, while average total deposits rose by 8% or $4.0 billion during the same period. Net interest margin, however, decreased by 0.13 percentage points to 2.65% from the same quarter last year.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)’s stock has risen by more than 7% so far this year. Despite the appreciation smart money had a bearish outlook towards the $8.91 billion financial services company during the first quarter. Among the funds that we track, a total of 32 firms had invested $678.44 million in Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) at the end of the first trimester, as opposed to 39 funds with $912.01 million at the end of the previous quarter. Third Avenue Management, led by Martin Whitman was the largest investor among these, holding 3.15 million shares valued at $142.01 million.
The third financial company to release earnings this morning is First Horizon National Corp (NYSE:FHN), which beat both the top and bottom line estimates by posting EPS of $0.22 against the $0.20 estimate, and revenues of $296.94 million, which were $7.17 million ahead of estimates. On a year-over-year basis, average core deposits increased by 13%, while loans grew by 16%. Noninterest income also rose by 10% from last quarter mainly driven by fees from deposits, brokerage, and trusts.
In the first three months of the year First Horizon National Corp (NYSE:FHN) appreciated by more than 5%, which was a reflection of the unequivocal support from the hedge fund industry. At the end of March the firms invested in the company had increased to 17 with $167.70 million in shares, from 13 funds with $105.91 million in holdings at the end of last year. Ric Dillon‘s Diamond Hill Capital led the pack, owning 2.90 million shares valued at $41.46 million.
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