Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 37,027 Shares of Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 89.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,027 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Evergy were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Evergy in the first quarter valued at $223,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 19.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Evergy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 19,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Evergy by 7.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $79.64 on Thursday. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.29 and a 12 month high of $85.27. The stock has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.94.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter. Evergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.79%. On average, equities analysts expect that Evergy Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.695 per share. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Evergy’s payout ratio is 75.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Evergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Charles L. King sold 2,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.19, for a total transaction of $200,543.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,926.21. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total transaction of $301,526.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 44,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,635,418.27. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $736,492. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Evergy 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.