Legato Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $929,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $95,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 73.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $858,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 21,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 11,776 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $974,956.29. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,407,912.01. This trade represents a 22.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $71.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.82. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $55.67 and a 52 week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.05.

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.