Have Synovus Financial Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Kevin Howard, the Executive VP & Chief Wholesale Banking Officer recently netted about US$914k selling shares at an average price of US$58.02. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 23%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for Synovus Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Synovus Financial

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive VP & CFO Andrew Gregory for US$1.1m worth of shares, at about US$40.03 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$56.00), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 61.84k shares for US$2.6m. On the other hand they divested 92.57k shares, for US$3.8m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Synovus Financial shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Synovus Financial insiders own about US$45m worth of shares. That equates to 0.6% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Synovus Financial Insiders?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Synovus Financial stock, than buying, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Synovus Financial and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.