The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) Price Target to $41.00

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) had its price target lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $46.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SNV. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Synovus Financial from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Synovus Financial from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Synovus Financial from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Synovus Financial from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synovus Financial currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $41.18.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synovus Financial stock opened at $35.68 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.88 and a 200 day moving average of $34.69. Synovus Financial has a 12 month low of $24.40 and a 12 month high of $40.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $537.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.62 million. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Synovus Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Synovus Financial will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synovus Financial news, Director Tim E. Bentsen sold 4,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.62, for a total transaction of $180,394.02. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,280,021.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter worth $7,115,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Synovus Financial by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 957,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,631,000 after purchasing an additional 301,604 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Synovus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $1,025,000. rhino investment partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,984,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 437,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,151,000 after acquiring an additional 65,434 shares during the period. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.