Steph & Co. Reduces Stake in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Steph & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 6.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 583 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $267,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,728,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Evergy by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 19,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG opened at $68.78 on Wednesday. Evergy Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.10 and a 1 year high of $70.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). Evergy had a net margin of 14.87% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Evergy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 price target on Evergy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $78.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.19.

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.