Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Evergy by 75.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 14,681 shares to bring its total holdings to 34,077 shares worth about $2.47 million.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Evergy, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.60. Recent updates included higher targets from Barclays, BTIG, and UBS.
• Evergy reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.69 versus expectations of $0.63 and revenue of $1.44 billion, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.695 per share for a 3.3% annualized yield.

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 75.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,077 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,681 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Evergy were worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,826,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Evergy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 8,990 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 979 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Evergy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EVRG. Barclays boosted their price target on Evergy from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Evergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Evergy in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In related news, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total transaction of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,153,869.94. The trade was a 22.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $63,398.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $139,960.80. This represents a 31.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,748 shares of company stock worth $1,061,870 over the last quarter. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG stock opened at $84.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Evergy Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $85.27. The company has a market cap of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $82.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.58.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. Evergy had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.63%.The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Evergy's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Evergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.140-4.340 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.695 dividend. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.74%.

About Evergy

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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