Evergy Inc. $EVRG Shares Sold by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,242,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166,442 shares during the period. Evergy makes up about 2.4% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.97% of Evergy worth $183,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 23,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Evergy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Evergy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Evergy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 8,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $84.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.43. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.00 and a 12 month high of $88.62.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.63%.Evergy’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.695 per share. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Evergy’s payout ratio is 73.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Evergy news, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total transaction of $48,846.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,358.80. This trade represents a 46.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total transaction of $900,283.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,153,869.94. The trade was a 22.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 12,748 shares of company stock worth $1,061,870 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. BTIG Research started coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price objective on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Evergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.10.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company’s business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.