EAM Investors LLC Makes New Investment in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

EAM Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 59,977 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SNV. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Synovus Financial by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,372 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 2,731 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $3,206,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. raised its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 32,375 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 8,350 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Synovus Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 115,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Synovus Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,178 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synovus Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SNV stock opened at $40.45 on Thursday. 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 cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $33.44 and a 1 year high of $59.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.70.

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

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SNV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.50 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Synovus Financial from $66.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Synovus Financial in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James cut Synovus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.17.

Synovus Financial 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.