Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.79.

Evergy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Evergy stock opened at $63.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. 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 fifty-two week low of $48.04 and a fifty-two week high of $65.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.58.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.6675 dividend. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other 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 value of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 230.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

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.