Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $68.50 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $59.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on EVRG. Barclays reduced their price target on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.06.

Evergy Stock Up 0.1 %

EVRG opened at $61.64 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.53. Evergy has a 52 week low of $48.04 and a 52 week high of $65.47. The firm has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.6675 dividend. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Evergy by 47.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other 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.