Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Short Interest Up 15.8% in November

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,290,000 shares, a growth of 15.8% from the November 15th total of 7,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Evergy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Evergy stock traded down $0.47 on Monday, reaching $61.44. The stock had a trading volume of 952,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,182. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy has a 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Evergy will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Evergy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Evergy by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Evergy by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Evergy by 1.2% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Evergy

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.