Synovus Financial Corp. $SNV Holdings Lifted by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its holdings in Synovus Financial, acquiring 79,963 shares after a 955.1% growth in the first quarter, making Synovus the 6th largest position in its portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have shown increased interest in Synovus Financial, with ownership now totaling 83.85% of the company's stock.
• Synovus Financial reported earnings of $1.48 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 955.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,963 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 72,384 shares during the period. Synovus Financial accounts for approximately 0.4% of AlphaQuest LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.06% of Synovus Financial worth $3,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNV. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Synovus Financial by 226.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,065,249 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,573,000 after buying an additional 738,983 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Synovus Financial by 201.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 820,782 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,363,000 after buying an additional 548,092 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Synovus Financial by 5,495.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 349,866 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,924,000 after buying an additional 343,613 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Synovus Financial by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,380,098 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,702,000 after buying an additional 337,784 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Synovus Financial in the first quarter worth $14,294,000. 83.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin S. Blair bought 4,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.40 per share, with a total value of $199,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 164,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,120,273.20. This trade represents a 2.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew J. Jr. Gregory bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.90 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,846,958. This trade represents a 3.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 8,040 shares of company stock valued at $392,916 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synovus Financial stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,420,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,183,634. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. 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 fifty-two week low of $35.94 and a fifty-two week high of $61.06.

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

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Synovus Financial's payout ratio is 29.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SNV. Truist Financial increased their price target on Synovus Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Stephens decreased their price target on Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on Synovus Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Synovus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.94.

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.