Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Trading Down 6.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) fell 6.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $73.22 and last traded at $72.7490. 1,848,926 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 4,418,460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.51.

Key Stories Impacting Synchrony Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Synchrony Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Schaeffer/Forbes says SYF could rally back toward prior highs, arguing valuation and buyback-driven EPS support upside. Synchrony Financial Stock Could Rally Back Near Record Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point upgraded SYF to a Buy with a $96 target, citing attractive multi‑year earnings leverage. Compass Point upgrade (Finviz)
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy and $96 target, saying near‑term expense pressures mask 2026 earnings power. BTIG buy reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen/TipRanks maintained a Buy with a $95 target, highlighting potential 2027 earnings upside after near‑term investments. TD Cowen buy maintained
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 2025 earnings call transcript and deep dives: SYF reported $2.18 EPS (beat) on slightly below‑estimate revenue and reiterated FY26 EPS guidance range; useful for details on restructuring and expense outlook. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis (Seeking Alpha) notes 2025 EPS growth via margin expansion and buybacks but flags flat loan growth, rising provisions and political/regulatory risks that could pressure future earnings. Synchrony Financial: Growth At A Cost
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports profit was hit by a restructuring charge and higher costs, a direct near‑term earnings headwind cited by management. Synchrony Financial profit hit by restructuring charge, higher costs
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets this week (Truist $92→$84, JPMorgan $86→$84, RBC $91→$85, Barclays $101→$93), putting near‑term downward pressure despite some retained “overweight”/“neutral” stances. Analyst price target changes (Benzinga)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, December 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.00 and its 200 day moving average is $75.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 15.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Synchrony Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $907,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 48.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,349,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416,909 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 149.4% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $64,429,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

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.