Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Takes Position in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Evergy by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,532,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,469,000 after buying an additional 288,619 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Evergy by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,906,000 after acquiring an additional 256,978 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,848,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,650,000 after acquiring an additional 583,923 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Evergy by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,135,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,392,000 after purchasing an additional 634,735 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 131.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,004,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,138 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evergy Trading Down 2.6 %

EVRG opened at $67.70 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Evergy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.55 and a 12 month high of $69.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Evergy’s payout ratio is currently 70.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.