Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) Reaches New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Evergy Inc.'s stock reached a new 52-week high of $74.13, closing at $73.96 with 108,713 shares traded.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Evergy, with Jefferies setting a price target of $78.00 and Barclays lowering theirs to $71.00, while Mizuho raised it to $77.00.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings of $0.82 per share, exceeding expectations, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.7%.

Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $74.13 and last traded at $73.96, with a volume of 108713 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.44.

Evergy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $71.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.80. The company has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.58.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.6675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Evergy's payout ratio is currently 73.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Evergy news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total value of $578,640.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,092.67. The trade was a 94.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evergy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,966,777 shares of the company's stock worth $2,134,540,000 after purchasing an additional 521,310 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,257,857 shares of the company's stock worth $429,677,000 after purchasing an additional 170,953 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,807,034 shares of the company's stock worth $400,279,000 after purchasing an additional 118,124 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Evergy by 8.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,685,142 shares of the company's stock worth $254,017,000 after purchasing an additional 293,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $212,132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

About Evergy

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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