Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.93 and last traded at $67.70, with a volume of 2540597 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EVRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Evergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.36.

Evergy Trading Down 1.9 %

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Evergy’s payout ratio is 70.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 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.