Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Evergy from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $68.42.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG opened at $67.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Evergy has a one year low of $49.55 and a one year high of $69.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.43 and a 200 day moving average of $62.96.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.11). Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Evergy by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 2,312,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,450 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 131.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,138 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 15,406.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 921,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,721,000 after acquiring an additional 915,603 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,652,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 3,216.6% in the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 880,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,211,000 after buying an additional 854,212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

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.