Azora Capital LP Has $55.65 Million Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Azora Capital LP lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 388.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 667,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 530,573 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial comprises 3.5% of Azora Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Azora Capital LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $55,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after purchasing an additional 191,920 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,517,000 after purchasing an additional 739,832 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,778,000 after purchasing an additional 442,226 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,194,000 after purchasing an additional 406,796 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,134,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $431,999,000 after purchasing an additional 592,567 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $74.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.14 and its 200-day moving average is $74.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.33. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $60.18 and a 52-week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.