Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $69.58 and last traded at $69.05, with a volume of 3112864 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $68.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Evergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.36.

Evergy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $63.85 and a 200 day moving average of $62.12.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.45%.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EVRG. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 164.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 2,312,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 7,234.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,275 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 131.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,138 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 15,406.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 921,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,721,000 after acquiring an additional 915,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,652,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.