Azora Capital LP Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 136,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,698,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Compass Point upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.11.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $63.79 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.60.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $533,690.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 94,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,423,850.83. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 3,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $261,699.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,180,320.72. This trade represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.