Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 102,044 Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381,360 shares of the bank's stock after selling 102,044 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Synovus Financial worth $19,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Synovus Financial in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,095 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Synovus Financial from $60.50 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Synovus Financial from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Synovus Financial in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.67.

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Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNV traded up $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.59. 1,434,499 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,308,177. The company's 50 day moving average is $52.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $33.44 and a 52 week high of $59.92.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $580.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.83 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. The company's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Synovus Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

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.