Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.05.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. Compass Point upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $72.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $71.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.79. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $56.51 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its 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 return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 12.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 3,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $261,699.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,320.72. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 374,630 shares of company stock valued at $25,731,741 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.