UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management sold 3,187,269 shares of Evergy Inc., reducing its holdings by 74.9%, and now owns 1,065,857 shares valued at approximately $73.49 million.
• Despite the share sale, several other large investors, including Nuveen LLC and AQR Capital Management LLC, increased their stakes in Evergy during the same period.
• Evergy recently reported Q2 earnings of $0.82 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, while also announcing a dividend of $0.6675 per share with a yield of 3.7%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lessened its stake in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 74.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,065,857 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,187,269 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.46% of Evergy worth $73,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVRG. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Evergy during the 1st quarter worth $212,132,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 8,154.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 973,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,128,000 after purchasing an additional 961,780 shares in the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at $63,444,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at $40,285,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,737,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,749,000 after purchasing an additional 392,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Trading Down 0.7%

EVRG traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.28. 2,379,666 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,840,278. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.58. Evergy Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.00 and a 1-year high of $73.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.04. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 14.29%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Evergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.920-4.120 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Evergy

In other news, SVP Lesley Lissette Elwell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.33, for a total value of $578,640.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 499 shares in the company, valued at $36,092.67. The trade was a 94.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EVRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Evergy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $74.44.

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.