Reviewing Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV)

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.6% of Banc of California shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Synovus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Banc of California shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Synovus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Synovus Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Banc of California pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Synovus Financial pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Banc of California has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Synovus Financial has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Synovus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Banc of California and Synovus Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banc of California	0	2	0	0	2.00
Synovus Financial	0	3	7	0	2.70

Banc of California currently has a consensus price target of $17.20, suggesting a potential upside of 36.40%. Synovus Financial has a consensus price target of $33.75, suggesting a potential upside of 9.97%. Given Banc of California’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Banc of California is more favorable than Synovus Financial.

Risk & Volatility

Banc of California has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synovus Financial has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Banc of California and Synovus Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banc of California	20.18%	8.65%	0.89%
Synovus Financial	20.14%	17.48%	1.19%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Banc of California and Synovus Financial’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banc of California	$354.32 million	2.04	$120.94 million	$1.75	7.21
Synovus Financial	$2.27 billion	1.98	$757.90 million	$4.40	6.98

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

Summary

Synovus Financial beats Banc of California on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California, National Association that provides banking and financial products and services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand, checking, savings, and money market deposits accounts; certificate of deposits; and retirement accounts and safe deposit boxes. It also provides various commercial and consumer loan products, such as commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate and multifamily loans; construction loans; single family residential mortgage loans; warehouse and indirect/direct leveraged lending; home equity lines of credit; small business administration loans; and consumer loans comprising lines of credit and term loans, as well as and other consumer loans, including automobile loans. In addition, the company offers automated bill payment, cash and treasury management, foreign exchange, interest rate swaps, card payment, remote and mobile deposit capture, automated clearing house origination, wire transfer, direct deposit, and internet banking services; and master demand accounts. Further, it invests in agency securities, municipal bonds, agency residential mortgage-backed securities, and corporate debt securities. The company was formerly known as First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Banc of California, Inc. in July 2013. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

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 loans. 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. 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, and trust 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.