Q3 EPS Estimate for Synchrony Financial Reduced by Analyst

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) – Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for Synchrony Financial in a report issued on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.40 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.55. The consensus estimate for Synchrony Financial’s current full-year earnings is $9.35 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Synchrony Financial’s FY2026 earnings at $9.35 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.32 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.26 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.93 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $2.63 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $11.57 EPS.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.45. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.89.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $77.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.71 and a 200-day moving average of $72.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $63.08 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The firm has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during 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 boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,778,000 after purchasing an additional 442,226 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,760,000 after buying an additional 365,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,108,000 after buying an additional 517,781 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial 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 transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.30%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.