Aquatic Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,252 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,472,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Synovus Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,041,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $616,892,000 after purchasing an additional 415,201 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Synovus Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,109,856 shares of the bank's stock valued at $261,778,000 after acquiring an additional 117,242 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,827,247 shares of the bank's stock worth $93,610,000 after purchasing an additional 77,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $77,209,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Synovus Financial by 349.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 529,147 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,108,000 after acquiring an additional 411,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company's stock.

Synovus Financial Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Synovus Financial stock traded up $1.24 on Friday, reaching $45.34. 876,467 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,414,640. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Synovus Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $35.81 and a fifty-two week high of $59.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.13.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $573.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.35 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. On average, analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase 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 3.44%. Synovus Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SNV shares. Stephens reduced their target price on Synovus Financial from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Synovus Financial from $64.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James lowered shares of Synovus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $66.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.17.

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.