Great West Life Assurance Co. Can Makes New $3.97 Million Investment in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 105,771 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,972,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SNV. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Synovus Financial by 10.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Synovus Financial in the first quarter worth about $419,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Synovus Financial by 10.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Synovus Financial in the first quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Synovus Financial by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,637,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $717,232,000 after acquiring an additional 207,867 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Synovus Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Synovus Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.40.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNV opened at $39.38 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.20 and a 200 day moving average of $39.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.34. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $34.15 and a 12 month high of $54.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 20th. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.06. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 30.50% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $582.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 15th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allan E. Kamensky sold 663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.80, for a total value of $29,039.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,942. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Profile

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Synovus Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. The company operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Financial Management Services (FMS). The Community Banking business segment serves customers using a relationship-based approach through its branch, ATM, commercial, and private wealth network in addition to mobile, Internet, and telephone banking.