Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.4211.

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Compass Point raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $974,956.29. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares in the company, valued at $3,407,912.01. This represents a 22.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 12,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $878,875.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,304,509.85. The trade was a 27.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.4% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 4,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.39. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.68.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.92%.

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.