Canoe Financial LP Cuts Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Canoe Financial LP cut its stake in Synchrony Financial by 39.4% in the first quarter, selling 13,690 shares and leaving it with 21,094 shares worth about $1.44 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on SYF: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with a consensus price target of $86.05, though several firms recently lowered targets or downgraded the shares.
• Synchrony reported Q1 EPS of $2.27, topping estimates, but revenue came in below expectations and fell 7.4% from a year earlier; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Canoe Financial LP lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 39.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,690 shares during the quarter. Canoe Financial LP's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after purchasing an additional 191,920 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,517,000 after buying an additional 739,832 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $519,778,000 after buying an additional 442,226 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,108,000 after buying an additional 517,781 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $354,194,000 after buying an additional 406,796 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $78.72 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $63.08 and a 52-week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.