Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.88.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EVRG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EVRG. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Evergy by 12.3% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Evergy by 16.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EVRG opened at $64.63 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $65.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.20. The company has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s payout ratio is currently 72.16%.

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.