Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $65.60 and last traded at $65.52, with a volume of 2284856 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Evergy Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.21.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Evergy by 391.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 97,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,030,000 after purchasing an additional 77,398 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Evergy by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 997,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,806,000 after purchasing an additional 224,679 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Evergy by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 945,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,609,000 after purchasing an additional 239,599 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Evergy by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Evergy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 515,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,954,000 after purchasing an additional 14,383 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by 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.