MQS Management LLC Purchases New Position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EVRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $257,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Evergy by 101.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,016 shares of the company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $2,591,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $173,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.96. 3,393,013 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,082,839. Evergy Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.09 and a 1 year high of $70.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). Evergy had a net margin of 14.87% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EVRG shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 price objective on Evergy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.19.

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.