Synchrony Financial (SYF) Competitors

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) and Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in SYF or VIRT?

96.5% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.8% of Virtu Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Synchrony Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 47.2% of Virtu Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer SYF or VIRT?

In the previous week, Synchrony Financial had 10 more articles in the media than Virtu Financial. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Synchrony Financial and 19 mentions for Virtu Financial. Synchrony Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat Virtu Financial's score of 1.13 indicating that Synchrony Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Synchrony Financial	23 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Virtu Financial	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, SYF or VIRT?

Synchrony Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Virtu Financial. Virtu Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Synchrony Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Synchrony Financial	$22.65B	1.26	$3.50B	$8.24	9.29
Virtu Financial	$3.38B	1.60	$276.42M	$4.40	8.05

Do analysts rate SYF or VIRT?

Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus target price of $73.79, indicating a potential downside of 3.62%. Virtu Financial has a consensus target price of $39.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.21%. Given Virtu Financial's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Virtu Financial is more favorable than Synchrony Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Synchrony Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Virtu Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Which has more risk & volatility, SYF or VIRT?

Synchrony Financial has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Virtu Financial has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SYF or VIRT a better dividend stock?

Synchrony Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Virtu Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Synchrony Financial pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Virtu Financial pays out 21.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Synchrony Financial has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Is SYF or VIRT more profitable?

Synchrony Financial has a net margin of 14.43% compared to Virtu Financial's net margin of 10.43%. Virtu Financial's return on equity of 32.08% beat Synchrony Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Synchrony Financial	14.43%	21.34%	2.71%
Virtu Financial	10.43%	32.08%	3.09%

Summary

Synchrony Financial beats Virtu Financial on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.