Insider Selling: Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Insider Sells 52,556 Shares of Stock

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,812,254.72. This trade represents a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded up $1.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.25. 5,108,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,141,314. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. HSBC raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.05.

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.