Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) to Buyback $1.00 billion in Outstanding Shares

Key Points

• Synchrony Financial has authorized a share buyback program worth $1 billion, representing approximately 3.7% of its outstanding shares, signaling the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.86, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $2.22, and showed a 14.43% net margin with revenue of $3.82 billion.
• Analysts' ratings on Synchrony Financial show an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with a consensus target price of $77.45, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock's future performance.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. BTIG Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.45.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.8%

SYF traded down $0.60 on Wednesday, hitting $72.24. The company had a trading volume of 6,183,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,584,218. The firm has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.50. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The company's fifty day moving average price is $73.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.56%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.

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