Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 506,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,273 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Synchrony Financial worth $35,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $302,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 16,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 992,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,501,000 after purchasing an additional 79,657 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.5% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 10,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total value of $289,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,346,350.08. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,556 shares of company stock valued at $6,419,730. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research began 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. Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. HSBC raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $73.96 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.76. The firm has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 15.72%.The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Synchrony Financial 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.