Unison Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Unison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial makes up approximately 0.8% of Unison Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Unison Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in 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 period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.9%

SYF stock opened at $71.58 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.50.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial 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.