Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Synchrony Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 21 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $86.05.
• The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.27 per share versus $2.14 expected, though revenue of $3.70 billion came in below estimates and was down 7.4% year over year.
• Synchrony also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share and a board-authorized share buyback program, while an insider sale of more than 51,000 shares was disclosed.

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.05.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $75.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.04 and a 200-day moving average of $74.58. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $60.01 and a 12-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 company has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.33.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company'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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 22,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 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.

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