Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Trims Holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp cut its holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,653 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,747 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 333.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 83.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on SNV shares. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Synovus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.18.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNV traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,387,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,516,496. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.91 and a 200-day moving average of $34.76. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $24.40 and a 12 month high of $40.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.40.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.20). Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $537.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Synovus Financial’s revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 52.05%.

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.