Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $858,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. United Community Bank boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 4,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 12,980 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $878,875.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,304,509.85. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 374,630 shares of company stock valued at $25,731,741 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $72.06 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $55.67 and a 1 year high of $88.77. The company has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.91 and a 200 day moving average of $74.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business 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 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.41%.

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.