Franklin Resources Inc. Has $441.57 Million Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,091,518 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,457 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $441,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy by 1,310.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 409 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Evergy in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co bought a new stake in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EVRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.60.

Evergy Trading Down 1.9%

EVRG opened at $81.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $82.28 and its 200-day moving average is $79.03. Evergy Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.25 and a 1-year high of $85.27.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. Evergy had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Evergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.140-4.340 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.695 dividend. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other Evergy news, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value 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 trade represents a 46.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Charles L. King sold 2,440 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.19, for a total value of $200,543.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at $1,508,926.21. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,401 shares of company stock worth $362,131. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.