Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Position in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Evergy Inc. by 6.6% during the second quarter, owning 297,079 shares valued at approximately $20.48 million.
• Evergy reported an EPS of $0.82 for the latest quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate and offering a 3.4% dividend yield based on its recent quarterly dividend declaration.
• Equities analysts are optimistic about Evergy, with several upgrading their price targets, including Jefferies increasing it from $77 to $87, maintaining a "buy" rating.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 297,079 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,283 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. owned 0.13% of Evergy worth $20,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi grew its holdings in Evergy by 14.2% during the first 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 grew its holdings in Evergy by 16.7% during the first 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. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in Evergy during the first quarter valued at $319,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Evergy during the second quarter valued at $413,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Evergy by 26.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 124,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,558,000 after purchasing an additional 26,086 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Price Performance

Evergy stock opened at $78.12 on Wednesday. Evergy Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.23 and a 52 week high of $79.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.06. 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 stock has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.57.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.04. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 14.29%.The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Evergy's payout ratio is 73.35%.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other Evergy news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was 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 owned 499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,092.67. The trade was a 94.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Evergy from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $78.07.

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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