Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 4,746 Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,703 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,746 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Evergy were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Evergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in Evergy by 5,983.3% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 730 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Performance

NASDAQ EVRG traded up $1.41 on Tuesday, reaching $68.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,373,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.05. Evergy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.49 and a 1-year high of $70.30.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.11). Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Evergy's payout ratio is 70.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EVRG. UBS Group raised their price objective on Evergy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Evergy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.25.

Evergy Company 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.