OP Asset Management Ltd Makes New $2.62 Million Investment in Synchrony Financial $SYF

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 38,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,617,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYF. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,698,000 after buying an additional 191,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,517,000 after acquiring an additional 739,832 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,778,000 after acquiring an additional 442,226 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,108,000 after acquiring an additional 517,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,194,000 after acquiring an additional 406,796 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:SYF opened at $78.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.Synchrony Financial’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.05.

About Synchrony Financial

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.