Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Invests $40.29 Million in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 584,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,285,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.25% of Evergy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Evergy by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Evergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Evergy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Evergy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 116,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,184,000 after buying an additional 9,140 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of Evergy stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 439,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,037. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.49. Evergy, Inc. has a one year low of $52.10 and a one year high of $70.36.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Evergy had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 8.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Evergy, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Evergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EVRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Evergy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.19.

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.