Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) Cut to “Market Perform” at Raymond James

Raymond James downgraded shares of Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

SNV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Synovus Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Synovus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.67.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

NYSE SNV opened at $38.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. Synovus Financial has a 52-week low of $33.44 and a 52-week high of $59.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.04.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $580.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Synovus Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synovus Financial will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. This is a boost from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SNV. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter worth $3,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Synovus Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 276,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,261,000 after buying an additional 10,109 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 9,852 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $1,504,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.