Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Cuts Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,905 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.09% of Synchrony Financial worth $22,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,372 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 549.4% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 4,329 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.0% in the first quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 2,994 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.7% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,402.17. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 3.3%

SYF stock opened at $74.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.05. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41.

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.