Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Given New $86.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) had its target price hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $83.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.74.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:SYF opened at $78.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.71. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $49.50 and a 52-week high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.28 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $533,690.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 94,873 shares in the company, valued at $6,423,850.83. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 829,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. This represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764 over the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. United Community Bank raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 4,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Synchrony Financial

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat/consumer resilience — SYF reported $2.27 EPS (above expectations) and management highlighted strong purchase volume and improving credit trends, supporting profitability. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly profit rises amid resilient consumer spending
• Positive Sentiment: Big buyback + dividend bump — Board approved a $6.5B repurchase program and announced a dividend raise (quarterly from $0.30 to $0.34), which is directly supportive of EPS and signals management confidence. Synchrony Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target lifts — Barclays raised its PT to $93 (overweight) and Robert W. Baird lifted its PT to $86 (outperform), adding bullish analyst momentum. Benzinga Analyst Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships & purchase-volume record — New co-branded programs (e.g., Chico’s FAS) and a first-quarter record in purchase volume support future fee and interest income growth. Chico’s FAS credit card program with Synchrony
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO tone: momentum but watch affordability — Management flagged solid card usage and improving credit metrics, but noted ongoing affordability pressures that could temper upside. Synchrony CFO Flags Momentum in Spending and Credit
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue decline and slightly light FY26 guide — Revenue fell ~7.4% YoY and FY2026 EPS guidance of $9.10–$9.50 is modestly centered near consensus (slightly below some estimates), which tempers the beat. MarketBeat Q1 summary & guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade from BTIG — BTIG cut SYF to Neutral, highlighting a more balanced risk/reward that could limit further multiple expansion near-term. Synchrony cut to Neutral at BTIG

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.