CNB Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

CNB Bank increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 20,366.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.2%

SYF opened at $74.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.60 and its 200-day moving average is $65.76. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial 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.