B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 28.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 32,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after buying an additional 7,189 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 28.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 682,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,317,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 7.8% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 126,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,853,000 after buying an additional 9,178 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 1.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 85,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,324,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $550,742.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,132.75. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Trading Up 0.4 %

Evergy stock opened at $64.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.97. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $64.95. The company has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its 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 business 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 company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EVRG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

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.