Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Receives $61.88 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other Evergy 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 value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EVRG. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Evergy by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,532,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,469,000 after acquiring an additional 288,619 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 18.8% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,490,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,901,000 after purchasing an additional 552,455 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position 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 worth $176,650,000 after buying an additional 583,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,443,000 after buying an additional 2,502,493 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Performance

NASDAQ EVRG opened at $61.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.51. Evergy has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The firm has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. Evergy’s payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

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.