Empowered Funds LLC Has $6.52 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC cut its Synchrony Financial stake by 68.1% in the first quarter, selling 205,025 shares and retaining 95,823 shares valued at approximately $6.52 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.48% of SYF.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 19 analysts and an average price target of $87.89. Several firms recently raised their price targets, including HSBC to $97 and Robert W. Baird to $90.
• Synchrony reported quarterly EPS of $2.59, beating estimates of $2.14, while revenue reached $3.72 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.34 per share, implying a 1.7% yield.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 68.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 205,025 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. KTF Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $3,923,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 959.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,131,000 after purchasing an additional 494,354 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 701.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,095,000 after purchasing an additional 105,907 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $84,494,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 228,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,097,000 after purchasing an additional 16,400 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. HSBC boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.89.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $81.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.37 and a 200-day moving average of $72.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.32. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $63.08 and a 1 year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 13.93%.

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.

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