Reviewing Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) & Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI)

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) and Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Synovus Financial and Shore Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Synovus Financial	8.40%	12.76%	0.95%
Shore Bancshares	7.18%	8.37%	0.73%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.8% of Synovus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.8% of Shore Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Synovus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Shore Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Synovus Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Shore Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Synovus Financial pays out 52.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Shore Bancshares pays out 82.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Volatility and Risk

Synovus Financial has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shore Bancshares has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Synovus Financial and Shore Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Synovus Financial	0	5	11	0	2.69
Shore Bancshares	0	2	0	0	2.00

Synovus Financial presently has a consensus target price of $46.81, suggesting a potential upside of 6.85%. Shore Bancshares has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.01%. Given Shore Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Shore Bancshares is more favorable than Synovus Financial.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Synovus Financial and Shore Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Synovus Financial	$1.85 billion	3.46	$543.71 million	$2.92	15.00
Shore Bancshares	$247.24 million	1.85	$11.23 million	$0.58	23.72

Synovus Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Shore Bancshares. Synovus Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shore Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Synovus Financial beats Shore Bancshares on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Synovus Financial

Synovus Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Synovus Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. It operates through four segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Consumer Banking, and Financial Management Services. The company's commercial banking services include treasury and asset management, capital market, and institutional trust services, as well as commercial, financial, and real estate lending services. Its consumer banking services comprise accepting customary types of demand and savings deposits accounts; mortgage, installment, and other consumer loans; investment and brokerage services; safe deposit services; automated banking services; automated fund transfers; internet-based banking services; and bank credit and debit card services, including Visa and MasterCard services. The company also offers various other financial services, including portfolio management for fixed-income securities, investment banking, execution of securities transactions as a broker/dealer, trust management, and financial planning services, as well as provides individual investment advice on equity and other securities. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.

About Shore Bancshares

Shore Bancshares, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Shore United Bank, N.A. that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. It offers checking, savings, overnight investment sweep, and money market accounts; and regular and IRA certificates of deposit, as well as CDARS programs and cash management services. The company also provides commercial loans, such as secured and unsecured loans, working capital loans, lines of credit, term loans, accounts receivable financing, real estate acquisition and development loans, construction loans, and letters of credit; residential real estate construction loans; residential mortgage loans; and loans to consumers, including home equity, automobile, installment, home improvement, and personal lines of credit, as well as other consumer financing products. In addition, it offers trust, asset management, and financial planning services; treasury management services, such as merchant card processing, remote deposit capture, and ACH origination, as well as telephone, mobile, and Internet banking services; safe deposit boxes; debit and credit cards; and automatic teller machine services. Shore Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Easton, Maryland.