New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 443,056 Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 346.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 570,880 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 443,056 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $21,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 8,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 12.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,035 shares of the bank’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 7,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,093 shares of the bank’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.38.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

Synovus Financial stock opened at $36.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.92 and a 200-day moving average of $34.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.40. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $24.40 and a 1-year high of $40.92.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.20). Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 13.29%. The company had revenue of $537.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Synovus Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

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.