Synovus price target lowered to $34 from $40 at JPMorgan

JPMorgan analyst Steven Alexopoulos lowered the firm’s price target on Synovus to $34 from $40 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Whereas Q2 earnings provided the bears on regional banks with more conviction, “we see a flipping of the script” when regional banks report Q3 results, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that with the sector now being on more stable footing, it expects Q3 earnings to “paint a picture” that the worst of pressure on net interest margins “is in the rearview mirror” with the pace of non-interest bearing outflows continuing to slow as well as the pace of increase in deposit rates also starting to abate. JPMorgan believes the Q3 earnings for small and mid-cap banks will provide the markets with more confidence that estimates for 2023 and 2024 are achievable.