Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,820 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,046,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,253,000 after buying an additional 288,913 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 1,038.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,612,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,294,967 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,942,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,594,000 after acquiring an additional 860,433 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,686,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,787,000 after acquiring an additional 134,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Evergy by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,183,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,994,000 after acquiring an additional 947,196 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of EVRG traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.50. 60,067 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,175,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.76 and its 200-day moving average is $52.39. Evergy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.92 and a fifty-two week high of $61.74.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 12.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.6425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on EVRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Evergy from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.83.

Evergy Profile

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.