Point72 Asset Management L.P. Takes Position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 36,737 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,882,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $3,952,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 6,130 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $963,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 5,495.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 349,866 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,924,000 after purchasing an additional 343,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SNV. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Synovus Financial from $66.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens decreased their target price on Synovus Financial from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Synovus Financial in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Synovus Financial from $64.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.56.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNV opened at $46.98 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. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $35.81 and a 12 month high of $59.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.42.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $572.35 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a positive change from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 43.70%.

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.