Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Synchrony Financial Call Options (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Traders purchased 4,049 Synchrony Financial call options, roughly 232% above the typical volume of 1,219 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twelve analysts rate SYF a Buy and seven rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $87.78.
• Shares declined while fundamentals remained solid: SYF fell 1.7% to $76.04, despite beating quarterly EPS estimates and raising its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.34, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 4,049 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 232% compared to the typical volume of 1,219 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.78.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.7%

SYF stock traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $76.04. 779,123 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,022,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.46. The company has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.32.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.93%.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial NYSE: SYF is a consumer financial services company that provides credit products and financing programs through partnerships with retailers, manufacturers, healthcare providers and other businesses. Its offerings are designed to help consumers finance purchases and manage spending across a range of industries.

The company's products include private-label and co-branded credit cards, promotional financing, installment loans and other consumer payment solutions. Synchrony also provides deposit products and other banking services through Synchrony Bank, including savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts.

Synchrony primarily serves consumers and business partners in the United States, including customers in retail, home, automotive, healthcare, specialty and other markets.

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