Patton Fund Management Inc. Buys 30,766 Shares of Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management boosted its Evergy stake by 65.1%, buying 30,766 shares to hold 78,004 shares worth about $5.655 million at the end of the quarter.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.90, including recent upgrades and a BTIG initiation at a $99 target.
• Evergy pays a quarterly dividend of $0.695 (annualized $2.78), yielding about 3.4% while its payout ratio is roughly 75.8%.

Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,004 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,766 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Evergy were worth $5,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Evergy by 1,310.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 409 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co acquired a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EVRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Evergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho set a $82.00 price target on shares of Evergy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.90.

Evergy Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of EVRG stock opened at $82.45 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.49 and a 200-day moving average of $77.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Evergy Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.29 and a 12-month high of $85.27. The firm has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.61.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Evergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.79%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.695 per share. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.75%.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In related news, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.61, for a total transaction of $301,526.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,635,418.27. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total transaction of $234,421.98. Following the sale, the director owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $190,287.74. The trade was a 55.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $736,492. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Evergy Company Profile

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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