Zacks Research Has Weak Estimate for Evergy FY2024 Earnings

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 EPS estimates for Evergy in a report released on Monday, January 6th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $3.84 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $3.85. The consensus estimate for Evergy’s current full-year earnings is $3.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Evergy’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.26 EPS.

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

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $60.91 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.37 and its 200 day moving average is $59.80. Evergy has a 1-year low of $48.04 and a 1-year high of $65.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS.

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 given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Evergy’s payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 47.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently 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.