Evergy Inc. $EVRG Shares Bought by Oak Thistle LLC

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in Evergy by 419.2% in Q4, buying 37,293 shares to hold 46,190 shares worth $3.35 million, making EVRG its 20th-largest position (about 0.5% of its holdings).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $87.75, and several firms recently raised targets (Citigroup to $95, Barclays to $89), reflecting mostly positive analyst sentiment.
• Evergy pays a quarterly dividend of $0.695 (annualized $2.78) for a yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of ~75.8%; meanwhile insiders sold 8,937 shares (~$736k) in the past three months and now hold 1.52% of the stock.

Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 419.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,190 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,293 shares during the period. Evergy comprises approximately 0.5% of Oak Thistle LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Evergy were worth $3,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EVRG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Evergy by 1,310.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 409 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the third quarter worth $41,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EVRG shares. UBS Group cut shares of Evergy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $82.00 target price on shares of Evergy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total value of $301,526.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,635,418.27. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total value of $234,421.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $190,287.74. This trade represents a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $736,492. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Evergy Stock Up 0.2%

EVRG opened at $82.84 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $80.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.49. Evergy Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.94 and a twelve month high of $85.23. The firm has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.61.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Evergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.695 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.75%.

Evergy Company Profile

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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