Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) Upgraded to Hold by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Barclays raised their target price on Evergy from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $58.33.

Evergy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $61.55 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.22 and a 200 day moving average of $54.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Evergy has a 1-year low of $46.92 and a 1-year high of $62.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 13.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.6425 dividend. This represents a $2.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Evergy’s payout ratio is currently 83.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Evergy news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 3,301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total transaction of $194,263.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,545.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Evergy news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 3,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total transaction of $194,263.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,545.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $196,803.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,463.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,884 shares of company stock worth $941,810 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in Evergy by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,004,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,417,000 after acquiring an additional 48,194 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Evergy by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Evergy by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 34,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 13,493 shares in 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.