Harvest Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 30,224 Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Harvest Investment Advisors LLC opened a new position in Synchrony Financial, buying 30,224 shares valued at about $2.52 million in the fourth quarter. The stake makes SYF the firm’s 13th largest holding and about 1.4% of its portfolio.
• Synchrony Financial’s latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, posting $2.27 EPS versus consensus of $2.14, though revenue came in below estimates at $3.70 billion and fell 7.4% year over year.
• The company continues to return capital to shareholders with a $0.30 quarterly dividend and a share buyback authorization, while analysts currently rate the stock “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $86.05.

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 30,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,000. Synchrony Financial accounts for 1.4% of Harvest Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at $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 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 Price Performance

SYF opened at $75.23 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.58. The firm has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.33. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $60.01 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business's revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 12.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.05.

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.

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