Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Evergy Inc. shares have reached a new **52-week high**, trading at $76.02 with substantial trading volume of approximately **2.24 million shares**.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Evergy, with Mizuho increasing its target to **$77.00** and Jefferies setting it at **$78.00**, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Evergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.6675 per share**, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of **3.5%**, with a **dividend payout ratio** of 73.35%.

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $76.18 and last traded at $76.02, with a volume of 2237358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EVRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 price target on shares of Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $74.44.

Evergy Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.98 and its 200-day moving average is $69.05. The stock has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.04. Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total transaction of $578,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,092.67. This represents a 94.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi boosted its holdings in Evergy by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 140,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,710,000 after purchasing an additional 17,477 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Evergy by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,737,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,749,000 after purchasing an additional 392,361 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at $319,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,728,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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