First Trust Advisors LP Buys 281,451 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,338,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 281,451 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.59% of Synchrony Financial worth $363,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 94,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,852,000 after buying an additional 16,901 shares in the last quarter. KTF Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,923,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 959.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,131,000 after buying an additional 494,354 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 365.8% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 26,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 20,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 701.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,095,000 after acquiring an additional 105,907 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Synchrony reported Q2 earnings of $2.59 per share, well above analyst estimates, helped by record purchase volume, stronger loan growth, and solid profitability. Synchrony Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 EPS outlook to $9.25-$9.50, signaling management confidence in continued earnings momentum. Synchrony Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Synchrony increased its quarterly dividend to $0.34 per share, a 13.3% boost, which supports the stock’s appeal to income investors. Synchrony Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management also highlighted June credit performance metrics and a more resilient consumer backdrop, suggesting borrowers are holding up better than feared. Synchrony Financial Reports June 2026 Credit Performance Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: One report noted that revenue missed estimates, which may have limited upside despite the earnings beat. Synchrony Financial misses Q2 CY2026 revenue estimates

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $72.28 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.45. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.32.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.