4,042 Shares in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) Purchased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC acquired 4,042 shares of Evergy Inc., valued at approximately $279,000, during the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Evergy, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $74.06.
• Evergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6675, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 3.7%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Evergy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Evergy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Evergy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of EVRG stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.20. 1,890,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,357,882. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.48. Evergy Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.28 and a 52 week high of $73.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.33.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 14.87% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The company's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Evergy's payout ratio is 70.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on EVRG. UBS Group raised Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Evergy in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.06.

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.