Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.23 and last traded at $65.11, with a volume of 117004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Evergy Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.09. The firm has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.87 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 (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the second quarter valued at $112,464,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Evergy by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 260,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,790,000 after acquiring an additional 19,193 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Evergy by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Evergy by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after acquiring an additional 35,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.