Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.27 and last traded at $63.26, with a volume of 185087 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $62.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EVRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Mizuho started coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Evergy Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.46%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,993,132.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,993,132.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $196,803.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 35,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,076,463.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Evergy by 26.4% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after buying an additional 6,616 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 244.6% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 5,655 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,657 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Evergy by 42.3% in the third 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, Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new position in Evergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $359,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.