Man Group plc Decreases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Man Group plc sharply reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 50.3% in the fourth quarter, selling about 1.44 million shares and leaving it with 1.43 million shares worth roughly $119.1 million.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on SYF, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.05, even though some firms recently downgraded or issued hold ratings.
• Synchrony Financial posted solid quarterly earnings, reporting EPS of $2.27 versus estimates of $2.14, while revenue came in below expectations at $3.70 billion; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share and has an active share repurchase program.

Man Group plc cut its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 50.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,427,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,444,285 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.41% of Synchrony Financial worth $119,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $74.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.33. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $60.18 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The business's 50-day moving average price is $73.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.56. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.Synchrony Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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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