Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 259,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,068 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $21,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in Evergy by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Evergy by 163.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $84.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Evergy Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.00 and a 12-month high of $88.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.43. The company has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. Evergy had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.63%.The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Evergy Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EVRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price target on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Evergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total value of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,153,869.94. This represents a 22.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total transaction of $48,846.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,358.80. This represents a 46.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,748 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,870 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Company Profile

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.