Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Stake in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,487 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Evergy were worth $1,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 47.1% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy by 12.3% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 16.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Evergy by 1.2% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group raised Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of Evergy stock opened at $64.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.04 and a 12 month high of $64.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total value of $550,742.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

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.