Bayforest Capital Ltd Sells 445 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Bayforest Capital Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 36.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 5.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $71.58 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.43 and a 200 day moving average of $64.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

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

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 shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.