Wedbush Securities Inc. Makes New $250,000 Investment in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $246,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 93,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,245,000 after acquiring an additional 45,810 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.6% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 441,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,475,000 after purchasing an additional 27,324 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.9% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 2,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:SYF opened at $74.95 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.20. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.38.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,075 shares of company stock worth $1,707,292. 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.