Brokerages Set Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Price Target at $56.00

Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Guggenheim cut Evergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Evergy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Evergy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EVRG opened at $52.48 on Friday. Evergy has a 12 month low of $46.92 and a 12 month high of $63.84. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.47% and a net margin of 13.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.6425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. Evergy’s payout ratio is 80.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its stake in Evergy by 199.5% in the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Evergy by 222.2% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 3,263.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.