Saudi Central Bank Has $1.85 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 83.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,038 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 959.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,131,000 after acquiring an additional 494,354 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,734,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 701.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,095,000 after buying an additional 105,907 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 228,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,097,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 130,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,870,000 after acquiring an additional 26,130 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $78.57 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.88 and a 200-day moving average of $73.42.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for 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 last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.78.

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.