Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 4.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,964 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 885 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNV. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 11,885 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 20.1% during the second quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 6,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Synovus Financial by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial during the second quarter worth about $435,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 19.6% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 153,017 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,150,000 after purchasing an additional 25,028 shares during the period. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SNV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Synovus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Synovus Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Synovus Financial in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup set a $59.00 price objective on Synovus Financial in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.78.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SNV opened at $51.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $33.44 and a 1-year high of $59.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.83.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $564.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $557.64 million. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.78%.

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.