Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) Stake Cut by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,807 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 21,291 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.15% of Synovus Financial worth $11,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,209,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,041,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $616,892,000 after acquiring an additional 415,201 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 349.4% in 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 in the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $12,350,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 478.5% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 270,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,870,000 after buying an additional 223,929 shares during the period. 83.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of Synovus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Synovus Financial in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.17.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SNV opened at $40.45 on Thursday. Synovus Financial Corp. has a one year low of $33.44 and a one year high of $59.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $573.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $572.35 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. Analysts anticipate that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is an increase from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.15%.

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.