Synovus Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 49.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,812 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,608 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Evergy were worth $542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in Evergy by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 2,312,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,450 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy by 15,406.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 921,546 shares of the company's stock worth $56,721,000 after acquiring an additional 915,603 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 4th quarter worth about $55,652,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Evergy by 3,216.6% in the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 880,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,211,000 after acquiring an additional 854,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,488,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EVRG traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.29. The company had a trading volume of 241,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,952,404. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.05. The company has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.49 and a 1 year high of $70.30.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.11). Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EVRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Evergy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Evergy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised shares of Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $69.25.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. It serves residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities.