Synovus Names New CEO; Street Sees 34% Upside

Synovus on Thursday named former COO Kevin Blair as the new CEO succeeding Kessel Stelling, effective Apr. 21. Shares closed down by 1.3%.

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Stelling will serve as the Chairman until Jan. 1, 2023, and continue in an advisory role until Jan. 1, 2025.

Synovus Financial (SNV) is a financial services company based in Columbus, Georgia.

“We believe Kevin is more than prepared to take on the added responsibilities of CEO and we are grateful to Kessel for his steadfast and transformational leadership for more than a decade.” said Elizabeth Camp, lead independent director of Synovus’ Board.

The stock price has lost close to 17% year-to-date and is trading at almost a discount of 19% to its 52-week high. (See SNV stock analysis on TipRanks)

Last week, RBC Capital analyst Steven Duong upgraded Synovus to Buy from Hold and raised the price target from $28 to $40. The target implies that investors could be reaping a 23% gain over the coming 12 months.

Duong had apprehensions regarding the company’s capital adequacy and credit amidst the pandemic. However, Synovus’ latest public comments have alleviated his concerns over the near-term.

Duong also predicted the company’s profitability will likely improve along with the economy.

From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a Strong Buy analyst consensus based on 7 Buys and 2 Holds. The average price target of 34.19 implies an upside potential of 4.8% to current levels.