Evergy Inc. $EVRG Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Evergy Inc. by 19.8%, selling 5,116 shares and leaving it with 20,696 shares valued at approximately $1.43 million.
• Several hedge funds have modified their positions in Evergy, with notable increases including a 2,307.1% increase by Jump Financial LLC.
• Evergy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.82, exceeding estimates, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6675 per share, bringing an annual yield of 3.7%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,696 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,116 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Evergy were worth $1,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter worth about $32,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EVRG has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 price objective on Evergy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Evergy in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Evergy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Evergy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.44.

Evergy Stock Performance

EVRG traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,182,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,929,915. Evergy Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.00 and a 52-week high of $73.97. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.42. The company has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 14.29%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

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

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.