Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) Hits New 12-Month High at $40.97

Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $40.97 and last traded at $40.97, with a volume of 38729 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SNV shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Synovus Financial from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Synovus Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $537.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.62 million. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Eli Samaha sold 172,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $4,356,802.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,293,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,590,126.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP D Wayne Akins, Jr. bought 24,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $37.40 per share, for a total transaction of $916,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,566,461.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Eli Samaha sold 172,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $4,356,802.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,293,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,590,126.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 179,712 shares of company stock valued at $4,528,878 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,838,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843,488 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,177,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,231 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,730,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $140,440,000 after acquiring an additional 21,041 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter worth $72,201,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter worth $59,941,000. Institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

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.