BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 34.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 945,148 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 239,599 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Evergy were worth $58,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EVRG opened at $65.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.04. Evergy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.04 and a 52 week high of $65.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.87 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 (NYSE:EVRG) last announced 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. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Evergy’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EVRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho started 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 shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.