Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 70,231 Shares of Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. added 70,231 shares in Q4, bringing its holdings to 30,206,309 shares — a 13.12% stake in Evergy valued at roughly $2.19 billion.
• Evergy pays a quarterly dividend of $0.695 (annualized $2.78) for a 3.4% yield, though its dividend payout ratio is relatively high at 75.75%.
• Wall Street has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $89.30 average price target; the stock trades at a P/E of 22.16 and a market cap of about $18.7 billion.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,206,309 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,231 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.12% of Evergy worth $2,189,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Evergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 1,310.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 409 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co purchased a new position in shares of Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.24% of the company's stock.

Evergy Stock Performance

Shares of EVRG opened at $81.33 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.99 and a 200 day moving average of $78.08. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.29 and a 12 month high of $85.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EVRG shares. Mizuho set a $82.00 price target on Evergy in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Evergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Evergy from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.30.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In related news, SVP Charles L. King sold 2,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.19, for a total transaction of $200,543.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,508,926.21. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ann D. Murtlow sold 2,847 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.34, for a total transaction of $234,421.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,287.74. This represents a 55.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,937 shares of company stock worth $736,492. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company 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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