Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 21,646 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,231 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,646 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Evergy were worth $3,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Evergy in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 230.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Evergy stock opened at $64.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Evergy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.04 and a 1-year high of $65.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.41 and a 200-day moving average of $60.80.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.36.

Evergy 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.