Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $68.50 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $59.00.

EVRG has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Evergy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Evergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.06.

Evergy Price Performance

NASDAQ EVRG opened at $61.55 on Thursday. Evergy has a fifty-two week low of $48.04 and a fifty-two week high of $65.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NASDAQ:EVRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is an increase from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.16%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other Evergy news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Evergy in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $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 acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 87.24% 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.