Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,807,034 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,124 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.52% of Evergy worth $400,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the first quarter worth $34,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its holdings in Evergy by 168.4% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in Evergy by 82.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Evergy during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on EVRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Evergy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Evergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.72.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In related news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total value of $578,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 499 shares in the company, valued at $36,092.67. This represents a 94.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EVRG opened at $75.85 on Friday. Evergy Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.67 and a 12-month high of $79.32. The company has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.695 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.16%.

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.