Employees Retirement System of Texas Acquires Shares of 2,753 Synchrony Financial $SYF

Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $184,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SYF. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 41.6% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 3,547 shares in the last quarter. Twin Lions Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,927,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $22,773,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,189,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,416,000 after purchasing an additional 142,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of SYF opened at $77.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.51. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.