Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,916 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,358,000 after purchasing an additional 281,383 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,653,000 after purchasing an additional 358,708 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,145,000 after purchasing an additional 706,212 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,859 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of SYF opened at $73.11 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.41. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.42. The stock has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.50.

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

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.