Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,300 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $2,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SNV. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Synovus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 474.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synovus Financial stock opened at $55.21 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.96. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $33.44 and a 12-month high of $59.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $580.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.83 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. Synovus Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 19th. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 49.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SNV. StockNews.com raised Synovus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Synovus Financial from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.44.

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.