Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Key Points

• EPS beat: Synchrony reported $2.27 EPS, beating estimates by $0.13, but revenue of $3.70B missed forecasts and was down 7.4% YoY.
• Dividend & valuation: The firm pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (annualized $1.20, 1.5% yield), with strong profitability (ROE 23.07%, net margin 15.72%) and a PE of 8.48.
• Insider selling and sentiment: Insiders sold ~379,928 shares (~$26.17M) last quarter despite 96.48% institutional ownership; analysts’ consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $85 average price target amid mixed revisions.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 15.72%.The business's revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $78.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $46.13 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 12.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total value of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $3,164,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 64,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,082.36. The trade was a 42.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after purchasing an additional 191,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $907,356,000 after buying an additional 3,494,741 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,778,000 after buying an additional 442,226 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,108,000 after buying an additional 517,781 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $354,194,000 after buying an additional 406,796 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.