Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) Cut to Market Perform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Synovus Financial has been downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from "outperform" to "market perform," with a target price of $50.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.14% from its current price.
• Despite the downgrade, other firms like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays maintain a more positive view, raising their price targets to between $60.00 and $65.00 with "overweight" ratings.
• Recent insider trading activity shows confidence in the company, with significant purchases made by both a director and the CFO, increasing their vested interests in Synovus Financial.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $50.00 target price on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.14% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SNV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Synovus Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial cut Synovus Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Synovus Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Synovus Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synovus Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.94.

Synovus Financial Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:SNV traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.01. The stock had a trading volume of 107,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,723. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.21. Synovus Financial has a 12-month low of $35.94 and a 12-month high of $61.06. The company's 50 day moving average is $50.95 and its 200-day moving average is $48.82.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $592.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $584.89 million. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 21.52% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synovus Financial will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory G. Montana purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.74 per share, for a total transaction of $46,740.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,898.34. This trade represents a 29.93% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew J. Jr. Gregory acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 58,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,958. This trade represents a 3.56% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 8,040 shares of company stock valued at $392,916. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 168.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,222 shares of the bank's stock worth $130,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791,973 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 820,782 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,363,000 after acquiring an additional 548,092 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 125.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 646,098 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,199,000 after acquiring an additional 359,568 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 5,495.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 349,866 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,924,000 after acquiring an additional 343,613 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,380,098 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,702,000 after acquiring an additional 337,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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