Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $50.04 Million in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 944,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,044,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Evergy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,046,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,253,000 after purchasing an additional 288,913 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 1,038.7% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,612,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,294,967 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,686,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,787,000 after acquiring an additional 134,236 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 781.4% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,326,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 2nd quarter valued at $112,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Evergy Trading Down 1.1 %

Evergy stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,016,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,128,752. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.12. Evergy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.92 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.01. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 13.12%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.6425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EVRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Evergy from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Evergy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 3,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total value of $194,263.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,545.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 3,301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.85, for a total value of $194,263.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,545.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,132.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,884 shares of company stock valued at $941,810 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.