Wesbanco Bank Inc. Takes $487,000 Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during 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 raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,884,000 after buying an additional 9,460 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake 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 valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 56.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of SYF opened at $72.92 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The firm has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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 forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 12.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total transaction of $289,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,346,350.08. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total transaction of $3,800,849.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 94,196 shares in the company, valued at $6,812,254.72. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,556 shares of company stock worth $6,419,730. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Robert W. Baird cut Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.05.

Synchrony Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Synchrony Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research published a bullish long‑term outlook, issuing a FY2028 EPS estimate of $11.11 (well above current consensus of $7.67), suggesting stronger longer‑term earnings potential that could support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its FY2026 estimate to $9.29 (from $8.94) and boosted several near‑term quarter forecasts (Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 among others), signaling near‑term earnings upside versus prior views — a constructive data point for investors focused on 2026 performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell sharply in January (down ~27% vs mid‑January), leaving only ~3.7% of shares short and a short‑interest ratio of ~2 days — less short selling reduces a potential source of downward pressure and can support the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Synchrony released its monthly credit‑performance statistics; these routine data points provide updates on delinquencies and losses (relevant to credit underwriting and reserve expectations) but did not include a headline surprise in the summary feed. Synchrony Financial Reports Monthly Credit Performance Statistics
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the UBS Financial Services Conference (transcript available). Conference remarks can influence sentiment if management provides new guidance or color; transcript availability lets investors check for incremental detail. Synchrony Financial Presents at UBS Financial Services Conference 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/industry coverage pieces discussing how Synchrony competes among large S&P 500 companies provide context on market positioning but are background rather than immediate catalysts. How Synchrony Financial Competes Among Top S&P 500 Companies
• Negative Sentiment: Despite several raises, Zacks also trimmed numerous near‑term and medium‑term quarter estimates (Q1 2027, Q3 2026, Q3/Q4 2027 and trimmed FY2027 from $10.16 to $10.02). Those downward revisions to some quarterly/annual numbers increase near‑term earnings uncertainty and likely contributed to downward pressure on the stock.

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.