Board of the Pension Protection Fund Reduces Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Board of the Pension Protection Fund decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 19.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.45.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $68.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.50. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.13.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict 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 Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.56%.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.