Susquehanna Bancshares (NASDAQ:SUSQ) & Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) Head to Head Analysis

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) and Susquehanna Bancshares (NASDAQ:SUSQ) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Synovus Financial and Susquehanna Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Synovus Financial	0	8	9	1	2.61
Susquehanna Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Synovus Financial currently has a consensus target price of $56.56, suggesting a potential upside of 17.80%. Given Synovus Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Synovus Financial is more favorable than Susquehanna Bancshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.8% of Synovus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Synovus Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Synovus Financial and Susquehanna Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Synovus Financial	14.05%	14.70%	1.14%
Susquehanna Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Synovus Financial and Susquehanna Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Synovus Financial	$2.01 billion	3.32	$482.46 million	$3.57	13.45
Susquehanna Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Synovus Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Susquehanna Bancshares.

Summary

Synovus Financial beats Susquehanna Bancshares on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Its consumer banking services comprise accepting customary types of demand and savings deposits accounts; mortgage, installment, and other consumer loans; investment and brokerage services; safe deposit services; automated banking services; automated fund transfers; internet-based banking services; and bank credit and debit card services, including Visa and MasterCard services. The company also offers various other financial services, including portfolio management for fixed-income securities, investment banking, execution of securities transactions as a broker/dealer, trust management, and financial planning services, as well as provides individual investment advice on equity and other securities. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.

About Susquehanna Bancshares

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. is a financial holding company. The Company conducts its business operations primarily through its commercial bank subsidiary, Susquehanna Bank, and other subsidiaries in the mid-Atlantic region to provide a range of retail and commercial banking and financial products and services. It provides a range of retail banking services, including checking, savings and club accounts, check cards, debit cards, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans, home improvement loans, automobile loans, personal loans, and internet and mobile banking services. It also provides a range of commercial banking services, including business checking accounts, cash management services, money market accounts, land acquisition and development loans, commercial loans, floor plan, equipment and working capital lines of credit, small business loans and internet banking services.