Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Sold by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. significantly reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by selling 61,724 shares, resulting in a 77.3% decrease in holdings, leaving the firm with 18,092 shares valued at approximately $958,000.
• Insiders at Synchrony Financial have also sold shares recently, with insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel selling 8,514 shares for about $596,000, indicating potential insider confidence concerns.
• The financial services provider reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.50, surpassing forecast expectations by $0.78, although its revenue of $3.65 billion fell short of analyst projections.

Graham Capital Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 77.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,724 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,149,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,704,496. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.13. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.49.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,450. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research raised Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial 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.