Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Downgraded by BTIG Research to Neutral

BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

SYF has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.74.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE SYF opened at $78.59 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.71. The stock has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.39. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $49.50 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.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. On average, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total value of $3,800,849.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 94,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,812,254.72. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,950,966.96. The trade was a 20.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after buying an additional 191,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,517,000 after buying an additional 739,832 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,778,000 after buying an additional 442,226 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,108,000 after purchasing an additional 517,781 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,194,000 after purchasing an additional 406,796 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Synchrony Financial

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat/consumer resilience — SYF reported $2.27 EPS (above expectations) and management highlighted strong purchase volume and improving credit trends, supporting profitability. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly profit rises amid resilient consumer spending
• Positive Sentiment: Big buyback + dividend bump — Board approved a $6.5B repurchase program and announced a dividend raise (quarterly from $0.30 to $0.34), which is directly supportive of EPS and signals management confidence. Synchrony Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target lifts — Barclays raised its PT to $93 (overweight) and Robert W. Baird lifted its PT to $86 (outperform), adding bullish analyst momentum. Benzinga Analyst Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships & purchase-volume record — New co-branded programs (e.g., Chico’s FAS) and a first-quarter record in purchase volume support future fee and interest income growth. Chico’s FAS credit card program with Synchrony
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO tone: momentum but watch affordability — Management flagged solid card usage and improving credit metrics, but noted ongoing affordability pressures that could temper upside. Synchrony CFO Flags Momentum in Spending and Credit
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue decline and slightly light FY26 guide — Revenue fell ~7.4% YoY and FY2026 EPS guidance of $9.10–$9.50 is modestly centered near consensus (slightly below some estimates), which tempers the beat. MarketBeat Q1 summary & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade from BTIG — BTIG cut SYF to Neutral, highlighting a more balanced risk/reward that could limit further multiple expansion near-term. Synchrony cut to Neutral at BTIG

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.