OP Asset Management Ltd Purchases New Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 38,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,617,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after purchasing an additional 191,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,517,000 after purchasing an additional 739,832 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,778,000 after purchasing an additional 442,226 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,108,000 after buying an additional 517,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,194,000 after buying an additional 406,796 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SYF opened at $78.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.33. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $63.08 and a 12 month high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.