Stolper Co Grows Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Stolper Co increased its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,461 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Stolper Co’s holdings in Evergy were worth $2,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 77,398 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Evergy by 13.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 307,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,304,000 after purchasing an additional 35,940 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Evergy by 60.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 44,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 16,619 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Evergy by 34.0% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Evergy by 29.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 997,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,806,000 after purchasing an additional 224,679 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $61.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. Evergy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.40 and a 200-day moving average of $60.06.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Evergy’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Evergy’s payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.06.

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.