Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 154,220 Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 333,399 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 154,220 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Synovus Financial worth $14,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the third quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 87.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 747 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 404.8% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Synovus Financial stock opened at $51.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.83. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $33.44 and a 52-week high of $59.92.

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

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 68.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SNV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Raymond James upgraded Synovus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group began coverage on Synovus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Synovus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.78.

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.