Is Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) the right investment to pursue these days? Investors who are in the know are getting more optimistic. The number of long hedge fund bets rose by 1 in recent months.
To the average investor, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to analyze the equity markets. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best money managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see just how much).
Equally as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the marketplace. Obviously, there are lots of motivations for an upper level exec to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the recent action surrounding Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV).
How are hedge funds trading Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 19 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 6% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Anchorage Advisors, managed by Kevin Michael Ulrich, holds the largest position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV). Anchorage Advisors has a $88 million position in the stock, comprising 3.2% of its 13F portfolio. On Anchorage Advisors’s heels is Bruce Kovner of Caxton Associates LP, with a $37 million position; the fund has 1.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Tom Brown’s Second Curve Capital.
Now, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, established the largest position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV). Highbridge Capital Management had 20 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments also initiated a $10 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new SNV position is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.
How are insiders trading Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time frame, Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results demonstrated by the aforementioned research, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
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