Man Group plc Takes $154 Million Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Man Group plc purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,024,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $153,997,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% in the first 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 grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in 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. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.0%

SYF opened at $80.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.00.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.78.

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.