GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Evergy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 84,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,498,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Evergy by 43.9% during the second quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 8,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Evergy by 3.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 83,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 49.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,178,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,414,000 after purchasing an additional 388,625 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 249.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 59,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,157,000 after purchasing an additional 42,561 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EVRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday. 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 on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG opened at $61.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.04 and a 52-week high of $65.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s payout ratio is 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.