Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.23 and last traded at $65.11, with a volume of 117004 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Evergy Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Evergy’s payout ratio is currently 72.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $112,464,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 8.0% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 260,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,790,000 after acquiring an additional 19,193 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Evergy by 66.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 13.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 35,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 60.6% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 44,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.