Brokerages Set Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Target Price at $61.88

Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation 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.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,532,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,469,000 after purchasing an additional 288,619 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 38.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,374 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Evergy by 18.8% during the second 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 during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Evergy by 25.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,848,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,650,000 after acquiring an additional 583,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 6,854.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502,493 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $62.96 on Friday. Evergy has a fifty-two week low of $48.04 and a fifty-two week high of $65.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm 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%. Evergy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Evergy will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 4.24%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.