Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SYF. Barclays lowered their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $72.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $88.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 587,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,053,000 after purchasing an additional 21,534 shares in the last quarter. KTF Investments LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,923,000. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 34,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,906,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.