Billionaire Ken Griffin and Citadel Investment Group Are Bullish on Synovus Financial Corp. (SNV)

Managed by Ken Griffin, Citadel Investment Group has upped its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV). The fund revealed a 50.83 million position, which represents 5.20% of the company’s outstanding common stock. According to the most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Citadel, previously held 9.2 million shares of Synovus.

A bank holding company, Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) provides commercial and retail banking, financial management, insurance and other services. On April 24, the company announced a one-for-seven reverse stock split of its common stock. Kessel Stelling, Synovus Chairman and CEO, reasoned that Synovus’ management believes that this anticipated increase in the market price per share will make the company’s common stock more attractive to a broader range of investors and benefit the existing stockholders by enhancing the liquidity of the stock.

Returning $0.14 earnings per share in 2013, this year Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) is expected to deliver EPS of around $0.20. Twice as volatile as the market, the company’s stock trades at a P/E ratio of approximately 25.00 – nearly double the average number for the Banking Industry. On average, analysts provide a recommendation to hold Synovus’ shares, which are expected to trade at a price slightly higher than the current one.

Kevin Michael Ulrich‘s Anchorage Advisors is also a significant shareholder of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV), in which it holds some 30.00 million shares.

One of the largest funds in the world, Citadel Investment Group holds a $76.78 billion diversified equity portfolio. Citadel’s main funds, Kensington and Wellington, returned almost 25.00% in 2012 and 19.40% in 2013. Citadel Investment Group owns large stakes of nearly 1.60 million shares and more than 710,600 shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), respectively.

Ken Griffin recently revealed a positive attitude towards Burlington Stores Inc (NYSE:BURL), a U.S.  company offering fashionable branded products, increasing his fund’s stake in the company to 5.31 million shares, up from the previously held 1.51 million. Mr. Griffin also upped Citadel’s position in Athlon Energy Inc (NYSE:ATHL), now possessing 3.48 million shares currently worth around 140.00 million.

Disclosure: none.

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