Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 144,324 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 282.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,324 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $13,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 844,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,412,000 after purchasing an additional 59,703 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 43.1% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 2,954 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 108,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,338,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,098,000 after acquiring an additional 281,451 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $72.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $63.08 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The firm has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.89.

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.