Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 720,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 198,991 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $51,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $73.37 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 15.72%.Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

More Synchrony Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Synchrony Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Schaeffer/Forbes says SYF could rally back toward prior highs, arguing valuation and buyback-driven EPS support upside. Synchrony Financial Stock Could Rally Back Near Record Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point upgraded SYF to a Buy with a $96 target, citing attractive multi‑year earnings leverage. Compass Point upgrade (Finviz)
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy and $96 target, saying near‑term expense pressures mask 2026 earnings power. BTIG buy reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen/TipRanks maintained a Buy with a $95 target, highlighting potential 2027 earnings upside after near‑term investments. TD Cowen buy maintained
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 2025 earnings call transcript and deep dives: SYF reported $2.18 EPS (beat) on slightly below‑estimate revenue and reiterated FY26 EPS guidance range; useful for details on restructuring and expense outlook. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis (Seeking Alpha) notes 2025 EPS growth via margin expansion and buybacks but flags flat loan growth, rising provisions and political/regulatory risks that could pressure future earnings. Synchrony Financial: Growth At A Cost
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports profit was hit by a restructuring charge and higher costs, a direct near‑term earnings headwind cited by management. Synchrony Financial profit hit by restructuring charge, higher costs
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets this week (Truist $92→$84, JPMorgan $86→$84, RBC $91→$85, Barclays $101→$93), putting near‑term downward pressure despite some retained “overweight”/“neutral” stances. Analyst price target changes (Benzinga)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 over the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Profile

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.