Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $65.60 and last traded at $65.52, with a volume of 2284856 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on EVRG shares. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $68.50 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Evergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.36.

Evergy Trading Up 0.8 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.11. The company has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.69 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.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin E. Bryant sold 48,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.93, for a total transaction of $3,029,513.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62.93. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,488,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Evergy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 270,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Evergy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 66,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,591,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,207,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,342,000 after purchasing an additional 107,305 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by 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.