National Bank of Canada FI Sells 83,696 Shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its shares in Evergy Inc. by 24.6% during the first quarter, bringing its total to 255,989 shares valued at $17.65 million.
• Evergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6675 per share, representing a 3.7% dividend yield.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Evergy, with a target price averaging $74.44 following several upgrades from brokerages.

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,989 shares of the company's stock after selling 83,696 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.11% of Evergy worth $17,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in Evergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Evergy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Evergy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Evergy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EVRG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Evergy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on shares of Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.44.

Evergy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Evergy stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.81. 1,884,955 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,356,567. The company has a market cap of $16.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.50. Evergy Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.82 and a 52 week high of $73.97.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Evergy's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.35%.

About Evergy

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.