Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 340,935 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG)

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its position in Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 736,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 340,935 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.32% of Evergy worth $45,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the first quarter worth about $290,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Evergy by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Evergy by 60.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 15,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Evergy by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 6,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Evergy by 69.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 3,525 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EVRG opened at $65.00 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $48.04 and a 1 year high of $65.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.13. The stock has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.62.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.16%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In related news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total value of $3,029,513.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.