Verition Fund Management LLC Trims Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 736,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 340,935 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Evergy were worth $45,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Evergy in the first quarter worth about $290,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 5,844 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Evergy by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 69.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,525 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Evergy stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.04 and a 52-week high of $65.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.13. 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 company has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,132.75. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EVRG. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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 Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.