Forum Financial Management LP Boosts Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,017 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,801,160. This 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 Stock Up 0.3%

SYF stock opened at $73.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.53 and a 200 day moving average of $65.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.41.

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, August 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

About Synchrony Financial

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.