O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 48.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,602 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,154 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,109,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $261,778,000 after acquiring an additional 117,242 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,419,737 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,633,000 after purchasing an additional 22,549 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $77,209,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 349.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 529,147 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,108,000 after buying an additional 411,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 467,825 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,967,000 after buying an additional 6,784 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synovus Financial Stock Down 7.8 %

Shares of SNV opened at $39.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.85. Synovus Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $33.44 and a fifty-two week high of $59.92.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $580.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.83 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SNV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Synovus Financial in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.50 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.17.

Synovus Financial Company Profile

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.