Estate Counselors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Estate Counselors LLC acquired 26,143 Synchrony Financial shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $1.78 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.48% of SYF.
• Synchrony reported quarterly EPS of $2.59, exceeding the $2.14 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $3.72 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $86.89.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.34 per share, representing a $1.36 annualized payout and a 1.8% yield.

Estate Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 26,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,778,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 94,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,852,000 after purchasing an additional 16,901 shares during the period. KTF Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,923,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 959.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,131,000 after purchasing an additional 494,354 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 376,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,619,000 after buying an additional 89,528 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $75.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.32. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.38 and a 200-day moving average of $72.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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 forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.30%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.