Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $4.62 Million Holdings in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Evergy Inc. by 8.4%, holding 66,965 shares valued at approximately $4.62 million after selling 6,103 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Evergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6675 per share, representing a yield of 3.83%, with a dividend payout ratio of 70.26%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Evergy's stock, with a recent downgrade to "sell" by Wall Street Zen and a "buy" rating along with higher price targets from Citigroup and UBS Group.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,965 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,103 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Evergy were worth $4,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EVRG. Stolper Co boosted its stake in shares of Evergy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Stolper Co now owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,946 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 24,372 shares of the company's stock worth $1,500,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,877 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,338 shares of the company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of EVRG stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $70.64. The company had a trading volume of 401,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,311,557. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.92 and a 200 day moving average of $66.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.50. Evergy Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.25 and a 1-year high of $70.75.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 14.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on EVRG. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.06.

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.