Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,211 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Evergy worth $8,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in Evergy by 5,983.3% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EVRG opened at $68.95 on Tuesday. Evergy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.55 and a 52-week high of $69.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.40. The firm has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted 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 return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. Equities analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EVRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Evergy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Evergy from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.08.

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.