Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Short Interest Up 6.8% in January

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,680,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the December 31st total of 9,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.36.

Insider Activity

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of Evergy 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 directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Evergy by 6,854.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 7,234.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,275 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 131.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,138 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 15,406.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 921,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,721,000 after purchasing an additional 915,603 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Evergy by 2,628.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 725,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,980,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EVRG traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.59. 175,518 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,748,029. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Evergy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.