Weiss Asset Management LP Has $16.56 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Weiss Asset Management LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 844.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 217,716 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $16,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 21.9% during 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 during the last quarter. KTF Investments LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,923,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 959.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,131,000 after purchasing an additional 494,354 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 701.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,095,000 after purchasing an additional 105,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 31.2% in the first quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 376,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,619,000 after purchasing an additional 89,528 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale 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. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. UBS Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.89.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:SYF opened at $72.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.30 and its 200 day moving average is $73.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $63.08 and a 12 month high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 15.44%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.30%.

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.