IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 21,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 68,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.45.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $72.81 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.38. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market cap of $27.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.50.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.56%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.