Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Synchrony Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from 20 analysts. The average 12-month price target is about $86.21, above the recent trading price.
• Recent analyst actions have been mixed but generally constructive, with Barclays raising its target to $93 and assigning an overweight rating, while Wells Fargo also maintained overweight despite trimming its target. Some firms, including Loop Capital and JPMorgan, were more cautious.
• The company reported better-than-expected EPS of $2.27 in its latest quarterly results, though revenue came in below estimates and fell 7.4% year over year. Synchrony also paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend and maintained a low payout ratio, while insiders and institutional investors continued to adjust their holdings.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.2105.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. Barclays increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 9,460 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 56.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 2,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,903,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,499,538. The stock has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.86.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The company 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 firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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 $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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