Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)’s stock price 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Evergy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.04. The company has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. Evergy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. 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 issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Evergy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

About Evergy

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.