Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. by 24.9%, selling 8,667 shares and retaining 26,077 shares valued at approximately $1.22 million.
• Synovus Financial reported $1.48 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a significant increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 29.94%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,077 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,667 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SNV. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,665 shares of the bank's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 4.4% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 34,558 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $467,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 129.0% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 37,757 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,765,000 after buying an additional 21,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 196,691 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,511,000 after acquiring an additional 76,267 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SNV traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $47.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,134,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,636,882. 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 Corp. has a 1-year low of $35.94 and a 1-year high of $61.06. The business's 50 day moving average price is $50.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Synovus Financial's payout ratio is currently 29.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synovus Financial news, CFO Andrew J. Jr. Gregory purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.90 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,846,958. This trade represents a 3.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Diana M. Murphy purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.80 per share, with a total value of $48,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 40,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,960,344.80. This represents a 2.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 8,040 shares of company stock worth $392,916 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SNV shares. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Synovus Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Synovus Financial from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Synovus Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synovus Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.78.

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.