Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.19.

A number of research firms recently commented on EVRG. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Evergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Evergy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Evergy Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $66.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Evergy has a 12 month low of $52.10 and a 12 month high of $70.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.48.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 14.87%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $212,132,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in Evergy by 164.8% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 2,312,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,450 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 8,154.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 973,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,128,000 after purchasing an additional 961,780 shares during the period. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd acquired a new stake in Evergy in the first quarter valued at approximately $63,444,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,652,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

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.