KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,181 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,626,424 shares of the bank’s stock worth $517,027,000 after acquiring an additional 598,644 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 12.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,674,226 shares of the bank’s stock worth $430,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,557 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Synovus Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,561,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,255,000 after purchasing an additional 201,362 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,109,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $261,778,000 after buying an additional 117,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Synovus Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,419,737 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,633,000 after acquiring an additional 22,549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE SNV opened at $46.12 on Friday. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $33.44 and a 52 week high of $59.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $580.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.83 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. Synovus Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Synovus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.67.

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.