Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its price target for Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) from $89 to $88 but kept a Buy rating, implying roughly a 6.73% upside from current levels.
• Consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $88.90 after mixed recent actions (raises and downgrades) from firms including BMO, Wells Fargo, UBS and RBC.
• Insiders sold 8,937 shares in the last quarter (notably SVP Heather Humphrey and Director Ann Murtlow), leaving insiders with 1.52% ownership while institutional investors hold about 87.24%.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Bank of America from $89.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 6.73% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on EVRG. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Evergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group cut shares of Evergy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.90.

Evergy Stock Performance

NASDAQ EVRG opened at $82.45 on Tuesday. Evergy has a 1 year low of $63.29 and a 1 year high of $85.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.61. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.67.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Evergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.79%. Analysts predict that Evergy will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total value of $301,526.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,007 shares in the company, valued at $3,635,418.27. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total transaction of $234,421.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,287.74. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $736,492. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Evergy by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the company's stock worth $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in Evergy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 8,990 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Evergy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,972 shares of the company's stock worth $3,571,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Evergy by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 979 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Evergy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the company's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc is a regulated electric utility that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily across Kansas and western Missouri. The company provides core utility services including retail electric delivery, grid operations, customer service and outage restoration, operating under state regulatory frameworks. Evergy serves a mix of urban and rural communities, including portions of the Kansas City metropolitan area and other population centers in its service territory.

The company's business activities span power generation, system planning, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and customer-facing programs such as energy efficiency and demand-side management.

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