Zacks Research Has Strong Forecast for SYF FY2026 Earnings

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 17th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $7.12 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.11. The consensus estimate for Synchrony Financial’s current full-year earnings is $6.51 per share.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SYF. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $65.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.90. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $35.29 and a 12-month high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

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.