Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 713,193 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,216 shares of the company’s stock after selling 713,193 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Evergy were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 7.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 9,178 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 85,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 7,234.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,275 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Evergy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Trading Up 0.2 %

EVRG stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. Evergy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.04 and a twelve month high of $65.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.09.

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

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.16%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho started coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.