Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Increases Dividend to $0.70 Per Share

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.695 per share on Friday, December 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This is a 4.1% increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Evergy has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. Evergy has a dividend payout ratio of 62.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Evergy to earn $4.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.67 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.3%.

Evergy Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:EVRG traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $75.56. 3,341,496 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,299,115. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.01 and a 200 day moving average of $70.96. Evergy has a twelve month low of $59.67 and a twelve month high of $79.32. The company has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.020 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Evergy will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other Evergy news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total transaction of $578,640.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,092.67. This represents a 94.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

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.