Vestcor Inc Raises Position in Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Evergy Inc. by 282.7% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 42,854 shares for a total worth of $4,000,000.
• Evergy's recent quarterly earnings report showed a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $0.54 versus the expected $0.66, with a revenue of $1.37 billion.
• Analysts have assigned a range of ratings to Evergy, with eight buy ratings and one strong buy, while the consensus rating stands at "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $74.06.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Evergy Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG - Free Report) by 282.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,015 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,854 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Evergy were worth $4,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in Evergy by 164.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 2,312,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,450 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Evergy by 8,154.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 973,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,128,000 after buying an additional 961,780 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Evergy during the first quarter worth about $40,285,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Evergy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,488,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Evergy by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,113,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,538,000 after purchasing an additional 447,558 shares in the last quarter. 87.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on EVRG shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Evergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Evergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $78.00 target price on Evergy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group upgraded Evergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Evergy from $73.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.06.

Evergy Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ EVRG traded up $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,409,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,176. Evergy Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.28 and a 12 month high of $71.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.11. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.48.

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 14.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Evergy Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Evergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Evergy's payout ratio is 70.26%.

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.