Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for SYF Earnings

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report issued on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.55 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.57. The consensus estimate for Synchrony Financial’s current full-year earnings is $9.34 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Synchrony Financial’s Q4 2026 earnings at $2.49 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.42 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.02 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.58 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.04 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $2.67 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $2.17 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.89 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.32.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SYF opened at $74.19 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.09 and a 200-day moving average of $73.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after buying an additional 191,920 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during 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 buying an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 442,226 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,760,000 after purchasing an additional 365,353 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Synchrony Financial News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted long-term profit expectations for Synchrony Financial, including higher FY2028 EPS, which supports the case for improved earnings power over time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts also issued a consensus price target of $86.21, implying further upside if the company executes well. Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives $86.21 Consensus Price Target from Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Several near- and medium-term EPS estimates were reduced, which may weigh on sentiment ahead of SYF’s July 21 earnings report and raise questions about short-term growth. Will Higher Purchase Volumes Fuel Synchrony’s Q2 Earnings Beat?

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.