Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 701.9% in the fourth quarter, raising its holdings to 120,996 shares valued at about $10.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: analysts give SYF a “Moderate Buy” rating overall, with a consensus price target of $86.05.
• Synchrony reported Q1 EPS of $2.27, topping expectations, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 while maintaining a low payout ratio of 12.41%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 701.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 105,907 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $10,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 43.2% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 68,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,890,000 after buying an additional 20,778 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 38.2% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 720,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,157,000 after purchasing an additional 198,991 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 71.5% during the third quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 54,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter valued at $2,108,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SYF. Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF opened at $71.91 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $71.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.83. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $55.67 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 12.41%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $974,956.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares in the company, valued at $3,407,912.01. This represents a 22.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 829,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 374,630 shares of company stock valued at $25,731,741. 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.

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