United Services Automobile Association Buys New Stake in Synovus Financial Corp. $SNV

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired 9,117 shares of Synovus Financial Corp. for approximately $421,000 during the first quarter, adding to a trend where several hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in the bank.
• The CEO, Kevin S. Blair, and Director Diana M. Murphy both recently purchased shares, indicating insider confidence, with Blair increasing his ownership by 2.52% and Murphy by 2.55%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Synovus Financial's stock, with many adjusting their price targets upward, placing the average target at $58.83 amid positive earnings performance and a recent dividend announcement.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,117 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Synovus Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the first quarter worth $70,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 39.1% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,561 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 33.3% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,626 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 205.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.85% of the company's stock.

Synovus Financial Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE SNV traded up $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.43. 218,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,631,467. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $51.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.17. 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 12-month low of $35.94 and a 12-month high of $61.06. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.23. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 21.52% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $592.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $584.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Synovus Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Synovus Financial

In other Synovus Financial news, Director Gregory G. Montana acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.74 per share, for a total transaction of $46,740.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,898.34. The trade was a 29.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin S. Blair acquired 4,040 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.40 per share, with a total value of $199,576.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 164,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,120,273.20. This trade represents a 2.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 8,040 shares of company stock worth $392,916 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SNV shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, August 12th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.83.

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.