Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Shares Acquired by Steph & Co.

Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,308 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 391.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 97,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,030,000 after purchasing an additional 77,398 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 13.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after buying an additional 35,940 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Evergy by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 44,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 16,619 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Evergy by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 945,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,609,000 after acquiring an additional 239,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Evergy by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 997,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,806,000 after acquiring an additional 224,679 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $61.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.04 and a 52 week high of $65.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. Evergy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.06.

Evergy Company 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.