Evergy Inc. $EVRG Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Evergy stake by 152.7% in the third quarter, owning 169,200 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 87.24% of EVRG shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.90.
• Evergy exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.88 in earnings per share versus $0.81 forecast and $1.50 billion in revenue versus $1.36 billion expected. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.695 per share, yielding about 3.4% annually.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 152.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 102,248 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Evergy worth $13,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EVRG. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Evergy by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 82,215 shares of the company's stock worth $6,448,000 after purchasing an additional 39,255 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 139.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 405 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 7,174 shares of the company's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 3rd quarter worth $232,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy during the 3rd quarter worth $358,000. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EVRG shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Evergy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Evergy in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Evergy in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Evergy from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.90.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other news, Director Jonathan Rolph acquired 1,640 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $81.47 per share, for a total transaction of $133,610.80. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 670 shares in the company, valued at $54,584.90. The trade was a -169.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Evergy Price Performance

EVRG opened at $81.69 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $81.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.70. Evergy Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.40 and a 1 year high of $88.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.50.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. Evergy had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.6950 per share. This represents a $2.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. Evergy's payout ratio is 70.56%.

Evergy Company Profile

Evergy, Inc is an investor-owned electric utility that generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. The company operates regulated utilities in Kansas and Missouri, providing electric service through its Kansas Central, Kansas South, Missouri Metro and Missouri West operations.

Evergy's generation portfolio includes wind, solar, coal, natural gas and nuclear power. The company also owns an interest in the Wolf Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power plant in Kansas, and continues to invest in renewable energy, grid modernization and other infrastructure intended to support reliable electricity service.

Evergy was formed in 2018 through the merger of Westar Energy and Great Plains Energy, the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light.

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