AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 347,937 Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 91.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,831 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 347,937 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SNV. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Synovus Financial by 24.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 328,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,233,000 after buying an additional 64,621 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new stake in Synovus Financial during the second quarter worth about $284,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 153,017 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,150,000 after purchasing an additional 25,028 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $968,000. Finally, Private Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Synovus Financial by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 365,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,644,000 after buying an additional 21,456 shares during the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synovus Financial

In other news, EVP Thomas T. Dierdorff sold 614 shares of Synovus Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction 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 $685,284.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SNV opened at $45.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.97. Synovus Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $24.40 and a fifty-two week high of $47.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $563.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $543.52 million. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Synovus Financial’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 93.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Synovus Financial from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Synovus Financial from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Synovus Financial from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.94.

Synovus Financial 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.