Morgan Stanley Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV)

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has a $37.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SNV. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Synovus Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Synovus Financial from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Synovus Financial from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.38.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of SNV stock opened at $36.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.79. 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 has a 12 month low of $24.40 and a 12 month high of $40.92. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Synovus Financial’s revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synovus Financial will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 52.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synovus Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNV. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $72,201,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $59,941,000. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 4,485,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,683,000 after buying an additional 1,548,370 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,177,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,951,000 after buying an additional 1,016,231 shares during the period. 83.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.