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

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $68.50 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $59.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.06.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $61.55 on Thursday. Evergy has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. 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 50 day moving average is $62.35 and its 200-day moving average is $59.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s payout ratio is 72.16%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Evergy by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,532,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,469,000 after purchasing an additional 288,619 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Evergy by 38.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,374 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,490,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,901,000 after buying an additional 552,455 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,848,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,650,000 after buying an additional 583,923 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Evergy by 6,854.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,443,000 after buying an additional 2,502,493 shares during 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.