Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Upgraded by Guggenheim to Buy Rating

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EVRG. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.79.

Evergy Stock Down 1.2 %

Evergy stock opened at $62.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Evergy has a 1-year low of $48.04 and a 1-year high of $65.47. The company has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.44.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 47.1% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 7,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 1.2% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.