Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.30.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EVRG shares. Mizuho set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Evergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st.

Evergy Price Performance

EVRG stock opened at $80.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.93. Evergy has a 12-month low of $63.29 and a 12-month high of $85.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Evergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Evergy will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Evergy’s payout ratio is currently 75.75%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In related news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total transaction of $234,421.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $190,287.74. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total transaction of $301,526.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,007 shares in the company, valued at $3,635,418.27. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $736,492 over the last 90 days. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,322,000 after buying an additional 74,470 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the third quarter worth approximately $1,482,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the third quarter worth approximately $72,860,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 9.9% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 209,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,912,000 after buying an additional 18,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 207.0% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,720,000 after buying an additional 15,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company’s business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.