Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.88.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EVRG. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

NASDAQ EVRG opened at $61.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy has a 52-week low of $48.04 and a 52-week high of $65.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.21.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Evergy’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Evergy will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 391.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 97,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,030,000 after acquiring an additional 77,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Evergy by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 35,940 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Evergy by 60.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 44,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Evergy by 49.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,178,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,414,000 after buying an additional 388,625 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 34.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 945,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,609,000 after buying an additional 239,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Company 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.