Verbena Value LP Decreases Holdings in Evergy Inc. $EVRG

Key Points

• Verbena Value LP cut its Evergy stake by 60.1% in the first quarter, selling 224,600 shares and leaving it with 149,300 shares worth about $12.2 million.
• Evergy posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, reporting EPS of $0.69 versus estimates of $0.63, on revenue of $1.44 billion; analysts now expect full-year EPS of 4.25.
• The utility continues to offer income investors a 3.2% dividend yield after paying a quarterly dividend of $0.695, while Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $90.10.

Verbena Value LP reduced its stake in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 60.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 224,600 shares during the period. Evergy makes up about 2.0% of Verbena Value LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Verbena Value LP owned approximately 0.06% of Evergy worth $12,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Evergy by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,829 shares of the company's stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Evergy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,826,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Evergy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 8,990 shares of the company's stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Evergy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,972 shares of the company's stock worth $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Composition Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Evergy by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 3,920 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 87.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Evergy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EVRG opened at $85.71 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $83.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.45. Evergy Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $88.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. Evergy had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Evergy Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.695 dividend. This represents a $2.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Evergy's payout ratio is presently 73.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on EVRG shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Evergy from $89.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Evergy in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Evergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.10.

Insider Activity at Evergy

In other news, EVP Charles A. Caisley sold 10,787 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.46, for a total transaction of $900,283.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,153,869.94. This represents a 22.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total value of $63,398.91. Following the sale, the director owned 1,680 shares in the company, valued at $139,960.80. The trade was a 31.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,748 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,870 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

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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