Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $27.98 Million Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 393,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,431 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $27,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 54.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.05.

Key Synchrony Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Synchrony Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several near-term and FY2026 estimates, including FY2026 EPS to $9.29 (from $8.94), Q1 2026 to $2.30 (from $2.04), Q2 2026 to $2.27 (from $2.14), and Q4 2026 to $2.22 (from $2.19). These upward revisions signal stronger near-term earnings expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell materially in January — down ~27% vs. Jan 15 to ~13.14M shares (3.7% of float), implying reduced bearish positioning and a lower short-squeeze risk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the UBS Financial Services Conference; the transcript is available for investors reviewing management commentary and strategic color. UBS Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed several 2026–2027 quarter and full?year forecasts: Q4 2027 to $2.52 (from $2.63), Q3 2027 to $2.75 (from $2.79), Q1 2027 to $2.14 (from $2.33), Q3 2026 to $2.50 (from $2.57), and cut FY2027 to $10.02 (from $10.16). Those downward revisions to 2027 estimates likely weigh on forward-growth sentiment.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total value of $3,800,849.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 94,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,812,254.72. This represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 88,556 shares of company stock worth $6,419,730 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $72.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $88.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.16. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.