Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 222,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,943,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 959.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 545,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,131,000 after purchasing an additional 494,354 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,734,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 228,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,097,000 after buying an additional 16,400 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $84,494,000. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 31.2% in the first quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 376,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,619,000 after buying an additional 89,528 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $79.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.32. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.45. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.78.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.