Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.06.

EVRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $63.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.27. Evergy has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $65.47.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Evergy will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Evergy by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,532,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,469,000 after buying an additional 288,619 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,089,000 after buying an additional 1,026,374 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Evergy by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,848,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,650,000 after buying an additional 583,923 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,135,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,392,000 after purchasing an additional 634,735 shares during 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.