Analysts Set Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) Price Target at $41.50

Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SNV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Synovus Financial from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Synovus Financial from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Synovus Financial from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Eli Samaha sold 6,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.22, for a total value of $171,571.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,466,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,984,953.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP D Wayne Akins, Jr. purchased 24,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $37.40 per share, with a total value of $916,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,461.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Eli Samaha sold 6,803 shares of Synovus Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.22, for a total value of $171,571.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,466,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,984,953.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 179,712 shares of company stock valued at $4,528,878 in the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synovus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNV. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,838,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843,488 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $72,201,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $59,941,000. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 52.7% in the third quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 4,485,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,177,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,231 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SNV opened at $37.36 on Friday. Synovus Financial has a 1-year low of $24.40 and a 1-year high of $40.92. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.71.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.20). Synovus Financial had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $537.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Synovus Financial will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 52.05%.

About Synovus Financial

Synovus Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Synovus Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. It operates through four segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Consumer Banking, and Financial Management Services. The company's commercial banking services include treasury and asset management, capital market, and institutional trust services, as well as commercial, financial, and real estate lending services.