The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 628,335 Evergy shares worth approximately $54.3 million, joining several other institutions that initiated positions. Institutional investors now own 87.24% of the utility’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $90.60 price target. Recent targets range from $91 to $97.
• Evergy exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.88 versus an $0.81 estimate and revenue of $1.50 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.695 per share, implying a 3.4% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 628,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,307,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.27% of Evergy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Evergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,992,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Evergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $421,000. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Evergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $187,857,000. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Evergy

In other news, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total value of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,153,869.94. This trade represents a 22.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Sandra Aj Lawrence sold 600 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.41, for a total value of $48,846.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,358.80. This represents a 46.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,987 shares of company stock valued at $998,471. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EVRG. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. BTIG Research set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Evergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Evergy from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Evergy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.60.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of EVRG opened at $82.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.54. Evergy Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.42 and a twelve month high of $88.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.66 and a 200-day moving average of $82.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be 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 is Tuesday, August 18th. Evergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.56%.

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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