Huntington National Bank Purchases 708 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.0% during the second quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 11,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $73.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.57. The company has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.51. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $77.41.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,075 shares of company stock worth $1,707,292. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.