Synovus Financial Corp. $SNV Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. by 2.3%, selling 8,144 shares, and now holds 341,722 shares valued at approximately $15.97 million.
• Insider buying activity increased with CFO Andrew J. Jr. Gregory purchasing 2,000 shares and CEO Kevin S. Blair acquiring 4,040 shares, indicating confidence in the company's future performance.
• Recent analyst reports resulted in mixed ratings, with DA Davidson raising its price target to $63.00 while Wells Fargo lowered its target, suggesting varying perspectives on Synovus Financial's growth potential.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 341,722 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,144 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of Synovus Financial worth $15,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNV. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 85,828 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the period. EJF Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 18.8% in the first quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the bank's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 23.9% in the first quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 196,070 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,159,000 after purchasing an additional 37,791 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 67.0% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 311,528 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,561,000 after purchasing an additional 124,987 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 168.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,222 shares of the bank's stock valued at $130,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,973 shares during the period. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synovus Financial

In other news, CEO Kevin S. Blair acquired 4,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.40 per share, for a total transaction of $199,576.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 164,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,120,273.20. This represents a 2.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Diana M. Murphy acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $48.80 per share, for a total transaction of $48,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 40,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,960,344.80. This trade represents a 2.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 8,040 shares of company stock worth $392,916 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNV has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered Synovus Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Synovus Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $58.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Synovus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synovus Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.83.

Synovus Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Synovus Financial stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.89. 643,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,630,983. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.94 and a 52-week high of $61.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $51.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $592.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $584.89 million. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 21.52% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Synovus Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 18th. Synovus Financial's payout ratio is currently 29.94%.

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.