NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 10,749 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,749 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.05% of Evergy worth $7,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 6,854.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502,493 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter valued at $112,464,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Evergy by 7,234.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,275 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 131.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Price Performance

Evergy stock opened at $63.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.29. The firm has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $48.04 and a one year high of $65.47.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Evergy’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st 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 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is 72.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho began coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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 upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.