Bridgewater Associates LP Buys New Shares in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 62,575 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,206,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,209,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,041,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $616,892,000 after purchasing an additional 415,201 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 349.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 529,147 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,108,000 after purchasing an additional 411,411 shares in the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,350,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 478.5% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 270,732 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,870,000 after purchasing an additional 223,929 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded Synovus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Synovus Financial from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reduced 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.17.

Synovus Financial Trading Up 3.8 %

SNV stock traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.16. 459,813 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,614. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $35.51 and a 1-year high of $59.92.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.35 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.70%.

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.