Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Evergy shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $88.62 after closing previously at $86.27, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Evergy has eight Buy ratings and three Hold ratings, with a consensus price target of $90.10 and recent target increases from firms like Barclays and UBS.
• The utility posted solid fundamentals, including Q1 earnings of $0.69 per share versus $0.63 expected, plus a 3.2% dividend yield backed by a $0.695 quarterly payout.

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $88.62 and last traded at $87.12, with a volume of 2346808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EVRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 target price on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Evergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.10.

Evergy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.48 and a 200-day moving average of $80.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. Evergy had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Evergy's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Evergy's payout ratio is 73.74%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In related news, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total value of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,153,869.94. This represents a 22.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 761 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $63,398.91. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,960.80. This trade represents a 31.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,748 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,870 over the last three months. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evergy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,073,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Evergy by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 316,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,944,000 after buying an additional 14,907 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 174,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 57,795 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its stake in Evergy by 295.4% during the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 105,780 shares of the company's stock worth $7,668,000 after buying an additional 79,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Evergy by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 560,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,613,000 after purchasing an additional 126,893 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Company Profile

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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