Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of SYF Q4 Earnings

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Synchrony Financial in a report released on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.09 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.49. The consensus estimate for Synchrony Financial’s current full-year earnings is $9.35 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Synchrony Financial’s Q4 2027 earnings at $2.72 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.24 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $2.53 EPS.

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

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on SYF. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.89.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.9%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $79.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $88.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,460 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 56.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.30%.

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.