Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• Evergy beat quarterly expectations: The utility reported earnings of $0.88 per share, $0.07 above consensus, while revenue reached $1.50 billion versus estimates of $1.36 billion. Earnings increased from $0.82 per share in the year-ago quarter.
• Dividend remains a key attraction: Evergy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.695 per share, or $2.78 annualized, representing a 3.3% yield and a 73.74% payout ratio.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eight analysts rate the stock a Buy and three rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $90.60 price target versus a recent share price of $83.04.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Evergy had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share.

Evergy Price Performance

Evergy stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $83.04. 2,089,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,996,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $84.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.36. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. Evergy has a 12-month low of $70.42 and a 12-month high of $88.62.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.695 per share. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is 73.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EVRG. Bank of America cut their price target on Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price target on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Evergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Evergy from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 600 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total transaction of $48,846.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,358.80. This trade represents a 46.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,153,869.94. This trade represents a 22.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,748 shares of company stock worth $1,061,870. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Evergy by 476.6% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,207,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,559,000 after buying an additional 998,400 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP grew its holdings in Evergy by 321.1% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 854,739 shares of the company's stock worth $61,960,000 after acquiring an additional 651,738 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 811,202 shares of the company's stock worth $58,804,000 after acquiring an additional 446,400 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,644,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP increased its position in shares of Evergy by 147.8% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 137,500 shares of the company's stock worth $9,967,000 after purchasing an additional 425,000 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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