Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.8889.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SYF. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $79.30 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.32.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 15.44%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

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 $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 12.30%.

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

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 94,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,852,000 after purchasing an additional 16,901 shares in the last quarter. KTF Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $3,923,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 959.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,131,000 after buying an additional 494,354 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 701.9% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,095,000 after buying an additional 105,907 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 228,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,097,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.