Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Upgraded to “Buy” at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH currently has $68.50 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $59.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.06.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $61.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. Evergy has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.53. The firm has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.6675 dividend. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Evergy by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Evergy by 47.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.