Focus Partners Wealth Raises Holdings in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 119.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,852 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,984 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Evergy were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Evergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Evergy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Evergy in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in Evergy by 5,983.3% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 730 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upgraded Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Evergy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Evergy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.44.

Evergy Stock Performance

Evergy stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $65.92. 1,765,021 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,209. Evergy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.10 and a 12-month high of $70.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.06.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Evergy's payout ratio is 70.26%.

Evergy 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.