Azora Capital LP Invests $9.70 Million in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 136,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,698,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 9,460 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 2,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $3,164,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,221 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,082.36. The trade was a 42.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 94,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,423,850.83. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.11.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $63.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.60. The company has a market cap of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

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.