Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the September 15th total of 5,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SNV traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,536,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,426. Synovus Financial has a one year low of $24.40 and a one year high of $48.27. The company has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $563.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $543.52 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 8.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synovus Financial will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on SNV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Synovus Financial from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup began coverage on Synovus Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Synovus Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Synovus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.94.

Insider Transactions at Synovus Financial

In other news, EVP Thomas T. Dierdorff sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $28,366.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,284.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNV. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,838,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,127,000 after buying an additional 2,843,488 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 181.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,302,379 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,343,000 after acquiring an additional 838,932 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 9.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,762,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,597,000 after acquiring an additional 491,036 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Synovus Financial during the second quarter valued at $19,434,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP grew its stake in Synovus Financial by 74.2% in the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 388,674 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,570,000 after purchasing an additional 165,548 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is 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.