Wall Street Zen Downgrades Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) to Sell

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $78.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Evergy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim raised shares of Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Evergy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.44.

Evergy Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:EVRG traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $65.80. 1,502,951 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,976,588. Evergy has a 12-month low of $52.10 and a 12-month high of $70.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.14 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Evergy will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Evergy by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at $269,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Evergy by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in Evergy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 16,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Evergy by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

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.