Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 5,495.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 349,866 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 343,613 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.25% of Synovus Financial worth $17,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SNV. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 554.4% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 589 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,095 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. 83.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of SNV stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $49.50. 777,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,428. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.81 and a 52 week high of $59.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.13.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.19. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $573.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $572.35 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Synovus Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Synovus Financial's payout ratio is 43.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Synovus Financial in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Synovus Financial from $64.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $66.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synovus Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.11.

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.