Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 3,652 Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Evergy by 47.1% during the third 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 stake in shares of Evergy in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $64.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.04 and a twelve month high of $64.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.97.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Evergy 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.