Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 720,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 198,991 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.20% of Synchrony Financial worth $51,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,064,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.5% during the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 370,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,719,000 after acquiring an additional 133,780 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,236,000 after acquiring an additional 333,093 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 73.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 77,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 32,802 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,737,000 after purchasing an additional 245,527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

More Synchrony Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Synchrony Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Schaeffer/Forbes says SYF could rally back toward prior highs, arguing valuation and buyback-driven EPS support upside. Synchrony Financial Stock Could Rally Back Near Record Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point upgraded SYF to a Buy with a $96 target, citing attractive multi‑year earnings leverage. Compass Point upgrade (Finviz)
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy and $96 target, saying near‑term expense pressures mask 2026 earnings power. BTIG buy reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen/TipRanks maintained a Buy with a $95 target, highlighting potential 2027 earnings upside after near‑term investments. TD Cowen buy maintained
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 2025 earnings call transcript and deep dives: SYF reported $2.18 EPS (beat) on slightly below‑estimate revenue and reiterated FY26 EPS guidance range; useful for details on restructuring and expense outlook. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis (Seeking Alpha) notes 2025 EPS growth via margin expansion and buybacks but flags flat loan growth, rising provisions and political/regulatory risks that could pressure future earnings. Synchrony Financial: Growth At A Cost
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports profit was hit by a restructuring charge and higher costs, a direct near‑term earnings headwind cited by management. Synchrony Financial profit hit by restructuring charge, higher costs
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets this week (Truist $92→$84, JPMorgan $86→$84, RBC $91→$85, Barclays $101→$93), putting near‑term downward pressure despite some retained “overweight”/“neutral” stances. Analyst price target changes (Benzinga)

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.1%

SYF stock opened at $73.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.05.

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.