Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,307 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,307 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Evergy were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EVRG. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Evergy by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 37,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,026,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE EVRG opened at $63.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.70. The company has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.62. 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 12-month low of $48.04 and a 12-month high of $64.14.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,132.75. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,724 shares of company stock worth $3,777,059. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

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.