USA Financial Formulas Makes New Investment in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EVRG. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 6,854.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,539,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502,493 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 7,234.3% during the 3rd 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 raised its position in shares of Evergy by 131.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,294,000 after buying an additional 1,138,138 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Evergy by 38.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,683,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,089,000 after buying an additional 1,026,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 147.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,193,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,213,000 after acquiring an additional 711,785 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of Evergy stock opened at $62.93 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.04 and a 52 week high of $65.47.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. This is a boost 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 presently 72.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently 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.