Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its Synchrony Financial stake by 23.9% in the first quarter, selling 33,490 shares and leaving it with 106,356 shares valued at about $7.23 million.
• Synchrony Financial reported strong quarterly earnings of $2.27 per share, beating estimates, though revenue of $3.70 billion came in below expectations and fell 7.4% year over year.
• The company’s board authorized a stock buyback program and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.6%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,490 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its stake 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 valued at $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 20,778 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd 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. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 397,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,145,000 after buying an additional 85,066 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,362,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,684,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:SYF opened at $76.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 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 current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 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 12.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.47.

About Synchrony Financial

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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