Robert W. Baird Upgrades Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) to Outperform

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $83.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.74% from the company’s current price.

SYF has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.11.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $71.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.65, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.83.

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

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total value of $289,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,346,350.08. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 88,556 shares of company stock valued at $6,419,730 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,064,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 370,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,719,000 after purchasing an additional 133,780 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,236,000 after purchasing an additional 333,093 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 73.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 77,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after buying an additional 32,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 6.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,737,000 after acquiring an additional 245,527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.