PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,388 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,036 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $3,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 47.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the second quarter worth $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Evergy during the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Evergy by 47.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,132.75. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,724 shares of company stock valued at $3,777,059. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Evergy Price Performance

EVRG opened at $64.26 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.91. Evergy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.04 and a 12-month high of $64.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.6675 dividend. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

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.