Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Holdings Lowered by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,887 shares during the period. Evergy comprises 2.2% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Evergy worth $18,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,374 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,490,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,901,000 after acquiring an additional 552,455 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,443,000 after buying an additional 2,502,493 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Evergy by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,135,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,392,000 after purchasing an additional 634,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the second quarter worth $112,464,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EVRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

NYSE EVRG opened at $63.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. Evergy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.04 and a fifty-two week high of $65.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is 72.16%.

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.